Intervention
by mysticalflute
Summary: What if someone was there to intercept Snow and Emma being thrown in The Pit with Cora? What if that someone had a secret that could reverse everything Regina did?
1. Reunions

Princess, no, she wasn't a princess here. She was just Ariel, taken away from her husband's palace because some of the hands that worked there thought they'd heard of a safe haven from the ogres… as if a fortified (if not _slightly_ damaged from Queen Regina's curse) castle was safer than living in… _this_.

Now, Ariel was not above living in a smaller, more… normal home at all. What she was not used to, and did not like (especially while a new mother), was the fact that there was a woman supposedly powerless in a hole. Ariel had heard rumors of this woman from her father, and from the elder mermaids in the sea. This woman was dangerous, but had been saying she was powerless when Mulan and Lancelot had dragged her to The Pit, or their version of a prison. Ariel was not sure if she believed it, as a magical being herself.

She was restless, wanting to go outside, but Eric wasn't having it. It was bad enough living so far from the sea, and now he would not even allow her to simply stand outside and enjoy the fresh air she was able to have? This was not right.

Ariel had been certain Queen Regina's curse would have swept she and Eric away to wherever it was her friends had landed, as even she had defied the witch. Well, kind of. Ursula and Regina had been working together, both plotting to destroy she and Snow White.

Snow… Ariel missed her friend. They'd been pregnant together, chattering eagerly about their upcoming arrivals, after the two of them had found their happy endings again. Then, the Queen had cast her curse, and ripped Snow away from their world, freezing Ariel at eight months pregnant for twenty eight years, according to what her father had said when time started moving again.

That had not been a fun way to spend the curse.

Ariel sighed, resting against the pillows again. Melody was in the crib next to her bed, fast asleep, blissfully unaware of what her life should have been, that she should have had a friend to play with her, rather than Mommy and Daddy, or Lancelot, as the man had a fondness for babies.

She heard voices, greeting someone, and Ariel sat up, looking out the window, spotting Mulan, having returned from her journey with Prince Phillip… she frowned a little. Where _was _Phillip? She saw another girl, whom she recognized as Aurora, and then… were those _prisoners_ with them?

Looking around to make sure Eric wasn't able to see her, Ariel slowly slid out of bed, moving to the door. Eric was with Mulan, securing the horses.

The woman with short, dark raven hair looked very, hauntingly familiar. Then the woman kicked Aurora and began running, the shout to the other woman nearly knocking Ariel over.

_Snow._

She caught Mulan's movements, and stretched out her arms. "Mulan, NO!" The water in the bucket on the steps flew toward Mulan's weapon, freezing it in place, as she placed a barrier around the two women in strange clothing.

Fury was in Mulan's eyes. "How dare you defy me Princess? Don't you know who I-"

"No Mulan. You do not get to speak to me that way. I am done taking orders from you. Do you even realize who this woman is?" Ariel said, glaring at the woman she'd never really liked as she moved over to her old friend, who stared at her as if she was walking with her mermaid fin attached to her.

"I don't care who she thinks she is," Mulan said, "she is the reason Phillip is dead!"

"We didn't mean to send the wraith here! We thought this land was destroyed!" the blond woman replied. Ariel frowned. Why did even _she_ look familiar?

"Mulan," the princess hissed. "I will take care of them. I don't care _who_ is in charge. Eric and I will take care of them. Now leave."

Mulan glared as Eric made his way to Ariel, nodding in agreement to his wife. Mulan had no choice but to go into her own home.

"Ariel… I can't believe it's really you…" Snow breathed, rushing in to hug the red haired woman tight. Ariel returned it, tears streaming down her face. "You're okay. Both of you… it's a miracle."

The princess shook her head and guided Snow and the other woman inside the small home. "No. You are the miracle for making it back here safe. Tell me everything that's happened…" she murmured, taking a seat on the bed again, Melody only just beginning to stir from her slumber.

Snow looked over at the crib, and Ariel didn't miss the look of heartbreak that crossed her friend's features.

"Melody," Eric said, lifting her up, and knowing what Ariel knew. "We named her Melody."

Snow let out a sad chuckle. "Like those songs you'd sing, Ariel?"

Ariel couldn't help but smile and nod. "Yes… but Snow… what happened to your…?"

"She's right here…" Snow said, gesturing to the blonde woman, who was looking at the others in a way Ariel couldn't read.

"Her? That's-"

"Emma…" Snow said. "We named her Emma…"

As if on cue, Emma looked at Snow, her _mother_, before taking a seat on the floor. Ariel gave her a small smile, smoothing out the aqua dress she wore. "I suppose… we should introduce ourselves."

"The Little Mermaid. Ariel," Emma said. Ariel was taken aback. If Snow and Charming had to give up their daughter, how could she possibly know of she and Eric?

Eric gave Snow a confused look as he handed Melody off to her guardian, protector. Ariel was to be Emma's, and Snow Melody's.

"Our stories are known in that world. Not in the way they _actually_ happened… but they are known," Snow explained.

"How?"

The raven-haired woman could only shrug. "I don't know."

"What is this place?" Emma spoke up.

"A place of refuge," Eric explained, sitting down next to Ariel. "When Queen Regina's curse hit, it kept the ogres here. They are ravaging the lad, worse than the curse did. This is a safe place for those who remained."

"Time here was frozen for twenty-eight years after you all were swept away," Ariel said. "And then… time started again somehow."

Emma murmured something, and Ariel looked over. "Emma?"

The woman cleared her throat. "It was because of me. When I decided to stay in Storybrooke."

"Is that the name of your world?" Eric asked.

"Part of it…" Emma murmured, clearly uncomfortable.

"Emma," Ariel said softly, "this must all be such a huge shock to you... if there's anything you want us to do to make you more comfortable…"

"I just… need some time," Emma said flatly. Ariel nodded. "Just time to… adjust…"

"Of course…" Eric said. "Would you like to eat something?"

Emma shook her head. "No."

Ariel looked at Snow. "What about you, Snow?"

Snow echoed her daughter.

Eric and Ariel exchanged weary glances. "Okay... do you want to… talk?" Ariel asked, unsure what else to do with the two of them.

"There is much we need to talk about, Ariel," Snow replied with a smile as Melody curiously reached for her nose.

"We can go outside. Mulan will not touch you if you are we me," Ariel said, standing.

Snow nodded, handing Melody back to Eric, and followed Ariel outside, the two women taking a seat on an empty patch of grass away from the house, to prevent Eric and Emma from hearing anything said.

"What happened Snow? How did you return? And where is everyone else?" Ariel asked.

Snow took a deep breath before launching into the story. She told Ariel everything, even down to what had happened to them before the curse officially broke. Ariel could only stare in horror at what her friend went through. She wished she could say she was surprised at the awful treatment of everyone that had been trapped there, but she was not. Not with the way Regina was.

"I am so sorry you went through that Snow…" Ariel said, reaching over and squeezing the woman's hand. "Whatever happened, you did not deserve it. None of you did. Not after what happened with Ruth…"

Snow let out a muffled sob into her free hand. Ariel rubbed her back, biting her lip.

The vial her father and Rumpelstiltskin had told her to keep safe, was in a small, magical pouch, hidden under the bed she shared with Eric.

For now, Ariel kept quiet, rubbing her best friend's back, allowing her tears to soak into the aqua dress.


	2. Part of That World

_Three years before Queen Regina cast her curse_

The water moved gracefully over her skin as the princess moved to her cavern – where she hid all of her special trinkets from the human world from her family. They would not understand why she was so fascinated by the human objects that fell into the sea. She hummed softly as she moved, spinning around in a circle, carefully laying down on the cavern floor, looking up at the objects. Jewels, pieces of ships, and some other things.

They were interesting, but she'd looked at them so often they were slowly starting to dull in their amusement. The young woman sighed, eyes focusing on the top of the cavern, toward the top of the water. Where the humans lived.

Cautiously, the mermaid poked her head out of the water, gaze moving around the beach, settling on a rock. A woman was there, sitting on the sand. She looked slightly familiar, Ariel noticed, swimming into the shallower water to get a better look.

She looked familiar, very familiar.

"Hello…" Ariel said carefully. The woman jumped back, startled. "My name is Ariel."

"Triton's daughter," the other woman replied. "I know."

"You look familiar," the red haired mermaid replied, splashing her tail carefully in the water. "What's your name?"

"Can I trust you?" the woman asked.

Ariel nodded. "Of course. Mermaid's code of honor, especially if you're another princess."

"My name is Snow."

"Snow White…" Ariel murmured. "Leopold's daughter. We heard of his death. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Leopold had been a great man, so kind to Ariel and her sisters after the death of their mother. To hear word of his death, murder, they said, had been hard for even the mermaids.

"Regina is after me. I have to hide, but I don't know how or where to go," Snow said, eyes darting around in fear.

"The Queen? Why would she be after you?"

"I hurt her," was all the woman replied. "And now she wants to hurt me."

Ariel wished she could help somehow, but the only thing she could think of was to send Snow to the rocks down the beach to hide in. According to what she'd heard from the others, there was a place for an adult body to fit into.

The sound of horses had both princesses turning their head in fear. "Snow," Ariel said, hushed and hurried. "You need to go over there, to those rocks. There's a hole that will be able to hide you. Hurry!"

Snow ran without hesitation, and Ariel moved the water carefully, concealing Snow's footfalls in the sand, before pushing herself into deeper waters as Regina's carriage appeared around the bend.

Ariel moved, hurrying back down to her kingdom.

All she could do now was hope Snow White got away.

_"Ariel!" _her father's voice shouted as she arrived back at the palace. "Where have you been? We've been searching everywhere for you?"

"I was…" she couldn't lie, "at the surface father…" Her muscles tensed, preparing her for her father's anger.

As expected, her father was enraged. "Ariel, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times not to go up there, especially with Regina and Rumpelstiltskin running around!"

"But father, I ran into Snow White!" Ariel protested. "She was running from Regina!"

Triton's eyes widened. "After Snow White?"

Ariel nodded, her eyes wide. "Yes. Snow said she didn't know where to go, so I pointed out that group of rocks where a human could hide and not be caught…"

Triton put a hand on her shoulder. "Good."

"You… are not angry with me father?" Ariel asked, her eyes curiously gazing up at her father.

Triton shook his head. "I should be, but I am not. You saved her life, Ariel, that is more important that collecting the human's things, or spying on that prince you seem so fond of."

Ariel's cheeks went red at her father's news. How he knew about this, Ariel didn't know, but she wasn't sure if she liked that he knew. "How-?"

"Nothing gets by me in the sea Ariel, you of all merpeople ought to know that by now."

Ariel smiled again, the blush fading. "Yes father."

"Good. Now, Sebastian has prepared a feast for us darling, to celebrate."

"C-celebrate?" she didn't like where this was going. The last time they had to celebrate something, it was her sister Alana's engagement to one of the other mer-princes.

Triton nodded. "Yes."

"What are we celebrating, father?" Ariel asked, following him back to their large castle, curiosity getting the best of her.

Triton said nothing, simply leading her inside to the dining room, where she gasped. The generals from the latest war against the evil sea witch Ursula were there, having survived the war.

"Oh thank Neptune!" Ariel said, smiling at the men.

Her father had never sheltered his older daughters from the war, though with Ariel, it had been a bit different, the young mermaid having to sneak around many times in order to figure out what was going on. Eventually though, her father had allowed her the same rights her sisters had.

The sea witch Ursula, also known as her aunt, was a terrifying woman, trying to capture Ariel and her sisters many times before turning her attention onto attempts at Triton's life, wanting to take over the kingdom. She was the Rumpelstiltskin of the sea – making deals with innocent people who were at their lowest, then making it a way for them to never be able to hold up their end of the bargain. Slowly, she built an army, one that was formidable to the Undersea Knights that her father ruled.

War ravaged the sea, something the merpeople were not used to. It sent the sea into chaos, and Triton lost a lot of the people's trust. Once he got help from King Leopold on the land, he was able to push Ursula back into the depths she controlled.

"We have pushed her back once again, but for how long?" Triton asked, gazing around the room. Ariel moved, floating next to her sisters and biting her lip. She didn't like the war, even though she knew Ursula was a wicked woman. She just wanted her captured and put away in the prison at the Dark Cavern.

She wasn't a fool though, she knew it wasn't going to be easy. Ursula had magic, dark, evil magic, and while her father had her grandfather's trident, it was still difficult to defeat her.

_Ursula _snarled as she paced around her home base. Her damn brother had defeated her again. Really, all she wanted was Ariel's beautiful voice, and control over the kingdom, was that too much for her to ask? Why did her father have to torment her by not letting her win? She had always been the favorite.

She sighed. What could she possibly do? She and Triton's powers were equal. One could not defeat the other so easily, and that was dragging out this war. As much as she was enjoying taking the souls of those Triton was close to, she was growing bored of the game, and she could tell her brother was too. They needed to end the war, preferably as she as the victor. This wasn't what merpeople did, even Ursula could accept that. War was for the humans on the land, not for the magical merpeople in the sea.

"Ursula…" two identical voices hissed.

Flotsom and Jetsam swam over to her, stopping at either side. Ursula gave them each an inquisitive look, before Flotsom spoke.

"Queen Regina is on the beach."

"And?" Ursula asked. She knew Regina, was allied toward her, but what did it matter that Regina was at the beach on the surface?

"She's looking for her step-daughter. Princess Ariel told her where to hide. We saw her," Jetsam said.

"Reeeeally?" Ursula drawled, a smirk forming on her face. "I could use this to my advantage…" With that, she got off her throne, beginning to move to the surface, where she found Regina looking around anxiously for the wayward princess. "Regina, _darling!"_ Ursula called.

The Queen turned, looking for the source of the voice, and smirked when she saw Ursula, moving into the water as she did so. "Ursula. To what do I owe this visit?"

Ursula smirked. "I know where your step-daughter is. It appears Princess Ariel was helping her out and told her where to hide to evade you."

Regina's eyebrow raised. "Indeed? Where is she then?"

The squid nodded toward the pile of rocks nearby. "There. It is a common place for your kind to hide when they are running from something."

The brunette woman smirked and waved her hand, three of her guards moving to the rocks. They moved them out of the way, climbing between them in the empty spaces…

But no one was to be found.


	3. Reset

"Snow, I promise you everything will be okay," Ariel said firmly. "Please believe me." She didn't know how she would ever get the chance to do what she wanted with the pouch Rumpelstiltskin had given her to guard, considering how far away they were from her palace, and from her father. Besides, she didn't know if she even should cast it, because she hadn't been able to hear from the imp that had, as much as she didn't want to admit it, helped her out tremendously.

"Everything seems so bleak though Ariel," Snow replied, wiping her eyes. "You know how badly I wanted to have a child, to not put my child through what I had to go through with Regina… and I wound up giving her worse than I could have imagined when I was fleeing from Regina. Being ripped away from her… losing the ability to teach her everything I know… she had such a hard life in that world, Ariel. I'd give anything to have the chance to go back and just… redo everything. To stop myself before I ruined Regina's life."

"I'm sure that's not true Snow. Whatever happened, I know you didn't mean it. It's not your fault she was just too blind and psychotic to see that you were sorry."

Ariel bit her lip, knowing now that Snow would accept what it was Rumpelstiltskin had entrusted the mermaid to do. "Snow… come on. Let's go inside…" she leaned down and murmured, "there's something I need to tell you."

Snow nodded, standing up and following Ariel back inside, where they found Emma smiling as she bounced a giggling Melody in her arms.

"You're a natural with her, Emma," Ariel remarked, leaning against the now-closed door. Emma jumped a little, startled by the voice, but relaxed when she noticed who it was.

"It's moments like this when… I wish I hadn't given my son up for adoption," Emma said quietly, smiling a little as Melody reached for her, and captured, her nose in her tiny grasp.

Ariel exchanged a startled look with Eric. Well… this hadn't been what they had anticipated when they were given the pouch by Rumpelstiltskin. The savior had a son. If they cast that spell, what would happen to the boy?

"Ariel?" Snow asked, noticing the look. "What's wrong?"

Eric sighed. "I suppose you were going to tell her."

Ariel nodded. "Yes. Sit down Snow, Emma."

Emma held Melody close, taking a seat next to Snow on the bed. Ariel bent down to retrieve the pouch from under the bed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before she brought it out. She opened it, retrieving the bottle and piece of parchment.

"What is that?" Emma asked, looking wearily at the bottle.

"It's a spell... like the curse," Ariel replied. "Rumpelstiltskin entrusted it to Eric and I a long time ago."

"_What_?!" Snow said, staring at her. "You know how deals with him work Ariel!"

"Snow, believe me, making a deal with him was the last thing I wanted to do," the former mermaid replied, "but I had to make a deal with him in order to get my voice back from Ursula! If it wasn't for him, Eric and I wouldn't have been here to save you from the Pit!"

Snow said nothing, and Ariel knew she had her. "Please just hear us out."

"What was the deal?" Snow asked.

"In exchange for Rumpelstiltskin's help in getting my voice back… I was to put this… anti-curse on the land after the curse broke, but when the curse hit and time froze, we couldn't. Then the ogres came back, and we fled… we're too far away from the water for me to be able to cast it… and the other survivors here don't trust magic at all," Ariel explained. "It was dangerous enough for me to use that magic to stop Mulan from attacking you, Snow."

"Why are they so afraid of magic?" Emma asked.

"Because magic is what sent you guys away. Some of the survivors here lost family members to the curse because of where they were when it hit," Eric said. "And then when the woman in the pit, Cora, arrived and tried to hurt us again… well…" He shrugged.

Snow went as white as her name. "Cora?"

Ariel nodded, frowning slightly. "What's wrong?"

"That woman… she's Regina's mother."

The room went silent, the three adults staring at Snow in horror.

"No wonder," Ariel said, a hand on her chest. "She nearly killed Lancelot when we first arrived. I only just managed to stop her."

"Lancelot is here too?" Snow asked.

Ariel nodded. "He is the leader of this… group. He was the one who told Eric's servant about it, and he in turn, told us."

Emma seemed to shudder at the word 'servant', and Ariel smiled a little. "We do not treat them badly if that is what you are afraid of, Emma," the woman said. "They were always like part of the family before we came here."

Emma nodded a little, rubbing Melody's back. "Okay."

Ariel looked at Eric. "This spell is one of the most powerful I've ever seen. It will bring _everyone_ back from that world. Rumpelstiltskin entrusted me to cast it because of my abilities as a mermaid. However… there is a catch."

Both women rolled their eyes. "Of course. There's always a catch with him," Emma muttered.

Ariel wondered briefly how Emma would know such a thing, but she shrugged it off before speaking again. "This spell will bring everyone back to this world but… it will send time back as well. This will take us back to the day Regina cast her curse. Everything will reset."

"Reset?" Snow asked. "So… so you mean…"

"You will be pregnant again. Emma as she is now will cease to exist."

Emma could only stare, and Snow seemed to be deep in thought.

"We can only cast this with your permission, Emma," Eric added. "It requires a piece of your hair. The hair of The Savior to send everyone back where they belong."

"What about my son?" Emma finally asked.

Ariel and Eric shrugged. "We don't know. No one knew you would grow up and have a son."

"There's only two things I can think of. Your son will regress back to a fetus as well and become your twin or…"

"Or?"

"He'll cease to exist until you have a child again."

Emma went quiet, and Snow spoke up again. "What about our memories?"

"He didn't say," Ariel replied. "My only guess is that you and Charming will remember, as will Rumpelstiltskin."

"How exactly did you get this?" Emma asked. "Rumpelstiltskin is _not_ in the story I know."

Ariel laughed a little. "Lucky you."

"Ariel," Eric said, his tone warning.

"Right, right. I might as well just tell the full story."

Ariel took a deep breath, plunging into the story.

* * *

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas/holiday! (And yes, next chapter we will see Ariel's story. :) )


	4. Poor Unfortunate Soul

_Note: This immediately follows the events of chapter 2, during the events of "Skin Deep"._

Ariel hummed as she swam through her kingdom, her father having dismissed she and her sisters from the meeting with the generals. It was a silly little tune, about a prince rescuing a human princess from awful peril. She'd heard it being sung by the humans on the ship near the human's palace on the surface near her father's own castle.

She was nervous though. Ariel wasn't a fool – she knew Ursula and Regina were allies. If either woman somehow found out that Ariel had been the one to help Snow White escape, she would be in great danger. She could never regret helping her friend, especially one that didn't deserve to be hunted like Snow.

Sighing a little, Ariel took a seat on a rock at the surface. It was far into the sea, no human could see her unless they were on one of those boat or ship things Ariel loved to watch. It was fascinating that humans could grow tired of being on the land, much like Ariel grew tired of being in the sea. She wondered if Prince Eric would ever consider becoming a mermaid if he ever fell in love with one. She also wondered if he was on his ship right now, coming out to sea to fish. The sport disgusted her, as she grew up around the creatures and regarded them as her equals, but she supposed that it was a part of the human diet, but she would never eat one, even if she was able to live among the humans.

White flags were visible in the distance, and Ariel smiled a little. Perhaps she would indeed be able to observe the humans today. She wondered who it was. Would it be Eric? Or would it be some of his men observing the sea for any dangers? Or perhaps someone else that she'd yet to meet or hear of in her studying of the human race. Balancing herself on the rock, the sea spraying up behind her, Ariel tried to look and see if she recognized anyone on board.

Her eyes widened as she felt something sucking her back down into the sea. She recognized the feeling. It was dark magic. Evil.

Ursula.

Ariel let out an ear-shattering scream as she was forced back down into the sea, not knowing that the ship she'd been so eagerly anticipating was merely a decoy.

The Evil Queen looked through the binoculars at the scene, laughter, terrifying and cold, ripped from her throat.

_Ariel_ shrieked and squirmed in the binds that had wrapped around her as she was dragged into the darkest parts of the sea, far from her father's kingdom, far from any sort of safety she could have.

"Don't panic my pretty," Ursula said, her tone mockingly cruel. "Everything will be just fine."

"Let go of me!" Ariel said. "I've not done anything to you! I've stayed out of the war, and I've never once tried to get in the way!"

The squid smirked as Ariel was forced down onto a large rock. "Perhaps not consciously, child… however, you have gotten in my way of my allies, and that, I feel, is like attacking me personally."

Ariel went pale. How did Ursula know she'd helped Snow? "But I… it was only for…"

"Princess helping a princess, darling, I understand the mentality behind it. After all, I help Regina, and Regina helps me."

"H-helps y-you?" Ariel murmured, eyes widening. "That ship. You knew I love watching humans on their ships and you sent a decoy, didn't you?"

Ursula smirked again. "Very good. I'm so glad to see your education didn't stop after your mother so tragically came down with that disease."

Ariel let out a muffled sob. If there was one thing she wanted right now, as she was trapped here in Ursula's lair, probably about to be killed, it was her mother. Athena would know what to do. She would know how to get out of here. She had been the most powerful mermaid in the sea, on the good side of the wars anyway.

"Poor little Ariel. Poor unfortunate soul… so ignorant to the war on the land. Your little friend up there, Snow White? She is a murderer. She committed treason against Queen Regina. She is the one in the wrong. Not Regina."

The mermaid frantically shook her head, not wanting to believe the words spinning from Ursula's mouth. Snow would never do such a thing. Snow would not be as evil as Regina or Ursula. Snow was good, she had to be. She had not known Snow that well as a child, but Leopold's daughter would know better than to commit murder. She knew it.

"Because of you being in the way, my dear, I'm going to take something from you, as you took from Regina," Ursula hissed, making her way dangerously close to Ariel, making the younger mermaid squirm back as well as she could. Ursula lifted up a shell, holding it out for Ariel to see. "Do you know what this is, dear?"

"G-Grandfather's shell. Father says it's the source of all your evil!" Ariel replied, trying hard to glare, but not well enough, her fear clear in her voice.

"That's right my dear… and it has been waiting for the perfect thing to put inside it. And now, I've finally figured out what that is."

Ariel could only gulp, staring at her aunt in fear.

"Your voice."

Ariel stared. "M-my voice? Why my voice?"

A cackle filled the room. "Why, so you can't get in the way anymore of course! I can't have you blabbing to your father about what you've been through, or blabbing to Snow White about where to hide, can I?"

Ariel struggled in the ropes, trying in vain to get free. She couldn't lose her voice. She just couldn't! If she lost her voice, she lost everything! She had only just gotten the courage to try and find Eric, to try and talk to him!

_Pain._

She felt so much pain in the next instant, and she was screaming, her eyes closing, barely able to hear Ursula cackling above her, unaware that her voice was being captured in that damn magical shell that was not to be used for evil.

Everything suddenly stopped, the echo of her scream ringing in her ears, but not coming from her throat.

Her voice was gone.

Blue eyes looked frantically for Ursula, but she was gone, leaving Ariel free to move, but where could she go? She could never look at her father in the eye again for being so disobedient, and if she went back and he yelled at her, she couldn't even attempt to defend herself.

All she could do was flee, so she fled the darkness, swimming in the opposite direction of her kingdom, heading closer to the surface. She didn't know what Ursula was going to do with her voice, and she didn't want to find out. Her head broke into the air, and the red haired mermaid found herself looking at Eric, who appeared to be watching his men unload his ship near the docks. Oh no, how had she swam so close to his kingdom?

Before she could move back into the sea, a voice called out, noticing her, and Ariel's eyes widened as Eric moved into the shallow surf. She found herself frozen, only moving her tail in the water.

"Hello!" the dark haired man said, getting as close as he could without being unable to touch the sea floor. "Who are you?"

Ariel shook her head, pointing to her throat, trying to tell him she couldn't talk, before something dawned on her.

Ursula had only taken her voice, not her powers.

Her arm swept into the sea, the water bubbling up, forming a single word. _'Ariel.'_

"Ariel?" Eric asked, "that's your name?"

The girl nodded.

"That's pretty," Eric replied with a smile. "But why didn't you just say it?"

She could have rolled her eyes. Apparently her points toward her throat had fallen on blind eyes. _'The sea witch Ursula took my voice away. I cannot speak.'_

Eric stared. "That's horrible!"

Ariel's eyes filled with tears. _'I want it back. I want my voice back.'_

Eric nodded. "I don't blame you…" he looked around, as if making sure they were alone. "Tell you what… as much as I do not trust the man… there is something I think I can do to help you."

Ariel's eyes widened, having a sinking feeling she knew what, or who, Eric was talking about. Stretching her hands once more, she forced a word to form. _'Rumpelstiltskin?'_

Eric sighed. "So you know of him."

_'It's hard not to hear of his misdeeds, even under the sea.'_

She was terrified of the thought of having to work with him, but what other choice did she have? She couldn't fight Ursula for it, she didn't even know where the sea witch was.

"I know he's not the easiest man to trust, and his deals are shady… but it seems that you are desperate. I will stay with you while you… speak with him, I promise."

Ariel looked up at him, trying to see if he was telling the truth. _'Okay. Call him then.' _Eric was right. She was stuck with no other option, aside from living without her voice, as an outcast with nothing to live for, and she refused to do that. She would get her voice back, even if it came at a price.

Eric stood. "Rumpelstiltskin, we need your help!" he called into the air. Ariel frowned, wondering how in the world anyone would be able to hear that, aside from perhaps someone on the beach, but in an instant, an imp stood in front of them, arms crossed over his chest. He looked horrible. Frightening. But it was too late to go back, and she knew this was the only way.

"You know… The Queen said something about a mermaid earlier," the imp said, regarding Ariel with a look she couldn't quite comprehend. "I assume you are no longer a threat to her if you are calling me for help."

"Ursula took her voice," Eric said, speaking for her. Rumpelstiltskin raised an eyebrow.

"How?" he asked, not looking at Eric, but at Ariel.

Ariel… well, she would have sighed, had anything been able to come from her mouth, and she looked at the imp, hands moving gracefully in the water. _'A shell that belonged to my grandfather. He gave it to her in his will when he passed. They say it's the source of all of her evil.'_

Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "I see, I see…" he looked at the pair of them, as if contemplating something. "Yes, I can help you, Princess Ariel."

Ariel swallowed tight, not wanting to think about what her price would be. _'Name your price.'_

"Your price my dear… is your assistance."

_'Assistance?'_

"Indeed my dear. You see… in a few years, there will be a terrible curse put on this land. Regina's 'ultimate revenge' against Snow White," Rumpelstiltskin explained. "And, while there will be a savior to break it… it will not be enough."

"Enough to what?" Eric asked, staring at the imp.

"Why, bring us all back here, of course."

"Bring us back? What is this curse going to do?!"

"It will rip us away, transport us to a world without magic. Everything we love will be ripped away from us. No more happy endings."

Ariel and Eric both stared at him in sickening horror. This wasn't possible. Nothing could be that powerful.

"I will give you this," Rumpelstiltskin said, holding out a vial. "It is a spell that will reverse everything, sending us back here, as if the curse never happened… however, it is missing a key ingredient."

_'What?'_

"The hair of the savior. As she, or he, is not born yet… it's not possible to get it."

_'How would I know who is the savior?'_

"Trust me. You will know. I will help you get your voice from the shell, if you cast the spell to bring us back."

Ariel took a deep breath. _'Deal.'_


	5. Deals and Death

_Rumpelstiltskin's POV_

Rumpelstiltskin smirked as he looked at the mermaid princess bobbing in the water. Regina would be furious, as would Ursula, but this was good. His Belle was _dead_, having been told the truth by Regina that his curse could be broken, which had forced him to send her out of his castle, where she'd been safe from Maurice's wrath.

But no matter, vengeance was always sweet, especially when it meant knocking Regina and Ursula down a peg or ten. Plus, Princess Ariel had _magic_, which was quite necessary for the other spell to be cast.

"Excellent, Princess…" Rumpelstiltskin said. "I shall give you the vial after I retrieve your voice. Don't want you losing it, after all."

Ariel shook her head, and he grinned. Perfect. Yes, he would have to go through 28 years of hell before the savior arrived, but it would be worth it, because it would finally shut Regina up about revenge against Snow White, and it would also allow him to finally, finally find his son. As for the spell he was giving to the princess, well, it reversed time, so he would gain those years back. Bae, however old he was in that land without magic, would go back to being fourteen again, just like he was when he was lost thanks to the damn Blue Fairy.

Ah well, what was lost, would be undone eventually.

Rumpelstiltskin snapped his fingers before giving the prince (whom, he could tell, was Ariel's true love, even if they weren't aware of it yet) a bubble to wear underwater. "Here, Princy-boy. I can tell you care about this girl. It's only fair you're able to come along and listen to her when she first gets her voice back."

Eric looked at him, full of distrust. Unsurprising to the imp. "There's no price for this dearie, especially if you're going to be helping her cast that spell. You are in the same deal as her."

"Help her? I never-"

"You don't think I notice true love when I see it, dearie? It couldn't be written more obviously on your faces. Now come. I believe we have a voice to rescue so you two can actually talk it out properly."

Rumpelstiltskin noticed as they exchanged a strange glance, and he suppressed a chuckle as he dove into the sea, Ariel and Eric following quickly behind him.

_Ariel P.O.V_

'True love'? What in the name of the seas did that mean? Yes, she admired Eric, the way he commanded his ship and his crew, and she did find him to be oh-so handsome, and she did want to be a human, but she had never met him, talked to him, before today. How could Rumpelstiltskin know that they were in love when even they weren't sure if this would amount to anything?

And knowing her father, it wouldn't amount to anything because of his uneasiness of humans. But… she knew true love was able to overcome anything, so perhaps… perhaps the imp was right.

"So dearie, where do you think Ursula would be right now?" Rumpelstiltskin asked. Ariel paused, trying to think hard of the sea witch's hiding spots.

_'She might be attacking the palace. I would not put it past her to be angering my father and trying to antagonize him,' _Ariel wrote.

"Then to your palace we go."

Ariel nodded, leading them to the palace. She knew before they even arrived that things were not as good as she'd been hoping.

The palace was in shambles.

Rumpelstiltskin let out a low whistle, and she felt Eric's hand on her shoulder. "So this is what she's capable of… Regina always said she was powerful, but I never expected this. No matter though. Everything will be okay-"

A scream, _Ariel's_ scream, tore through the area.

Eric's eyes widened, and he looked at the mermaid. "That's… that's your voice, isn't it?"

Ariel nodded, and Rumpelstiltskin grinned. "Well, I do so love when things like that happen." He let out a giddy sort of… laugh… and swam over in the direction of the scream, Ariel and Eric following quickly.

"ARIEL!" her father's voice boomed. The mermaid whirled around, but her father was nowhere to be found. Oh no…

_'She's trying to lure him to her!'_ she wrote frantically. Eric's eyes widened again, and his eyes darted around, looking for a weapon.

_R.P.O.V_

"FATHER! FATHER HELP! URSULA HAS ME!" Ariel's voice kept screaming. Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes. Could she really be that dumb to think he would fall for it?

Triton though, was looking around, before his eyes locked with his daughter's. Well, that was better than falling for Ursula's game, but probably not so good for the princess. Ah well, it wasn't his problem. He had a shell to get.

He smirked a little as he watched Ariel rush to her father, frantically trying to tell him that what the voice was, really wasn't her.

"Ursula," he said when he saw a slimmer, more beautiful version of the sea witch. He wondered what her plan was supposed to be.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" she said, in a voice not her own. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the land helping Regina?"

"I was just above you actually, and I heard racket, so I came down here."

"Well, it was so nice of you to stop by and say hello, but as you can see, everything is fine!"

Rumpelstiltskin may have been a slippery imp, but he had been in a war himself long ago. This was _far_ from 'fine'.

"That is quite a shell you have there around your neck, Ursula. May I see it?" he asked, distracting her.

"Oh! You like it? My father gave it to me when he passed."

Rumpelstiltskin gave her an innocent smile. "Death is awful, isn't it? May I see the shell? I have a deal to make with someone and I want to be sure I'm getting the right bargain."

It wasn't _totally_ a lie, but enough for Ursula to apparently lose her head for a moment and think he was on her side.

With a smirk, Rumpelstiltskin crushed the shell in his hand, and Ursula let out a scream that slowly turned back into her own as Ariel's voice was freed… and it appeared, many others.

"Rumpelstiltskin! What the hell is the matter with you? I thought you worked for us!" Ursula shouted.

"No no dearie. I work for who and what suit me best… and right now, that isn't _you_," Rumpelstiltskin said with a smirk.

_A.P.O.V_

Everything happened so fast.

First, her father had noticed her, not Ursula's voice, but _her,_ and just as Eric was explaining to him what had happened, something had been broken, and a white light filled the area. She felt Eric and her father's arms around her, and she let out an… audible… gasp as everything stopped again.

Her voice.

"He did it…" she whispered. "My voice is back!"

_"Who_ did _what? _Ariel?" her father asked, looking worn, but just angry enough to make her shrink back against Eric's form. "Don't tell me you made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin."

"Daddy, I didn't know what else I could do!" Ariel protested. "And the deal isn't even bad, for someone like him. I just have to cast something for him..."

"B-believe me your highness… compared to some other deals I've heard about, Ariel got off quite lightly," Eric put in. "I will protect her sir, I swear."

Ariel looked up at the man, eyes filled with thanks and admiration.

Triton frowned, then sighed. "You're eighteen now Ariel… and even though you're still the youngest daughter I have… I guess I have no choice but to let you make your own decisions."

"Then I choose to become a human father, and live with Eric," Ariel replied, slightly stunned by her father's words.

Eric smiled. "I would like that very much sir. Please know that I have guards that will keep her safe and sound while she learns to adjust to our world."

Sighing again, Triton nodded, after a moment of hesitation. "A-alright. Ariel, if this is what you want… then fine. But you know that your magic is something no one, not even Rumpelstiltskin, can take away from you, right?"

"Yes father." She didn't want to lose her identity as a mermaid, just her fins.

An angry yell had the three looking up, and Ariel spotted Ursula, now back in her grotesque form, but missing the shell, heading their way.

"IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU HAVE _RUINED_ ME!" Ursula shouted, stretching out a hand, a whirlpool forming in it. She wasn't able to use her dark spells and evil magic… but she still had the magic she'd always had from birth.

And that scared Ariel.

Ariel screamed as Eric pulled her away, her father's trident raised in the air, stabbing Ursula square in the chest, her ink spilling out of the wound.

Dead.

For a brief moment, Ariel swore she saw Rumpelstiltskin swimming near the pool of ink, but when she blinked, he was gone.

She could hear cheering from the mer-people around them, and she smiled, knowing that their long days of fear and despair were finally over.

"Father…" she said. "I will help restore the palace."

Triton nodded with a smile. "Thank you my dear."

Eric bowed a little. "I'll wait on the surface… I'll get in the way if I stay down here."

Ariel smiled. "I shall be there soon."

_R.P.O.V_

Rumpelstiltskin stood on top of a rock that was the dividing point between deep and shallow waters of the sea with a triumphant grin. Today had gone _far_ better than he thought. He had someone to cast the spell to bring Bae back to him as a teenager, and he had the squid ink that would be terribly important to him before Regina cast her… or his… curse. Pocketing the ink, he set his hand against the pouch containing the ingredients of the spell he was able to get together, along with the directions for the mermaid and her prince.

Speaking of… Rumpelstiltskin saw a head of dark hair breaking the surface. "Hello your majesty!" he said with a mock bow. "Where would your lovely princess be?"

Eric swam, before sitting down in the water shallow water. It didn't matter, his clothing had already been soaked by their adventure in the undersea kingdom. "She's helping her father repair their castle… she shouldn't be too much longer."

"Ah, of course," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "Get onto the land. I'd like to do something nice for you."

Eric gave him a (well-deserved, admittedly) weary, distrusting glance, but, as they all did, stood and made his way to the land, the imp following him. When he reached dry land, Rumpelstiltskin waved his hand, and Eric's wet clothing dried, and he looked much more regal in a dark blue uniform. "There you go dearie. I'm afraid I have to go though, so when your princess gets back, see to it that she gets this." He handed Eric the pouch with the spell, before his face turned serious. "Keep that safe… pleasure doing business with you both."

With that, he vanished.


	6. Magic and Vegetables

_The Enchanted Forest; present day_

_Emma P.O.V_

Emma could only stare at Eric and Ariel as the mermaid finished her story. So many people had gone through so much when it came to this curse… and she had the power to reverse everything. Well, not everything perhaps. Regina would still be evil, no doubt.

But she could have a family. The one that she always wanted, the one she always craved, as much as she didn't want to admit it out loud to anyone, especially to her… mother. And Henry, her son, wouldn't have to be raised by that awful woman who had caused this whole mess to begin with. She could raise her son, possibly, and if he became her twin, he would still have a stable, loving family, with her.

The downside was, she would have to go through puberty again. She'd have to become… a princess. She wasn't girly at all – she could barely stand wearing skirts, let alone the dresses she saw the women wearing in Henry's book.

But… that was such a minor inconvenience… and Snow _wasn't_ the princess she thought she was, so perhaps Mary-Mar… er, her mother, would allow her to be less princess-y, and more like she was currently.

At least, she hoped.

She heard talking around her, but she couldn't find it in herself to join in on the conversation as she held Melody close to her, the eight month old occupying herself with the small piece of fabric Eric had given her to hold.

She really couldn't believe all of this was really happening – that she was sitting in a room with The Little Mermaid and her prince, and, most of all, that her mother was Snow White, who had given her up for her best chance, so she didn't be cursed along with them.

Emma wondered what would have happened if she was cursed along with her family. Would Regina have killed her? Would she have been, god forbid, raised by Regina? Or would she, by some miracle, have been able to be with Mary-Margaret?

Wait, would she have been 'raised'? If time was frozen… she would have stayed a newborn forever… with no one to break the curse. A perpetual loop as an infant. Puberty suddenly didn't look so bad. At least that meant growing up, as horrible as it had been the first time, especially in the foster system.

But… she glanced up at Ariel. If there was a reset button, then there would be no curse for her to be sent away from, she could be safe and happy, and _loved_.

Emma closed her eyes for a moment, before reaching out and plucking a couple hairs from her head. "Here."

_A.P.O.V_

_"Here."_

Ariel turned at the word, and Ariel stared at what was in Emma's hand. Hair.

"Emma…" Snow murmured. "Are you sure? What about Henry?"

"Whatever happens to Henry can't be any worse than what he was already going through with Regina making him feel like he was crazy. This way, he'll be with his real family. Whatever happens," Emma explained. "I'll be able to raise him… and you'll be able to raise me."

Snow's eyes filled with tears Ariel had a feeling she'd been hiding for a while, before quickly going to Emma and hugging her tight.

Ariel took the hairs from Emma, placing them in the vial with the ingredients Rumpelstiltskin had prepared before Regina cast the damn curse, watching as it glowed a white color. "Okay… then it's settled. We cast the spell."

Emma nodded. "So cast it then."

The mermaid let out a slight laugh. "I'm afraid it's not that simple Emma… my magic is mermaid's magic. Something like this will require me being in a large body of water, otherwise I won't have enough magic."

"Then let's go find some water," Emma said.

"I never thought I'd see the day where you were so into magic, Emma," Snow said, laughing.

Ariel grinned. "Gladly, Emma. You have no idea how I long to be near my father's kingdom again."

"So let's go," Emma said, standing up.

Eric frowned and looked outside. "It's almost dark. Too dangerous to travel right now. We'll have to go first thing in the morning."

Emma frowned slightly, clearly not happy with the development.

"Ogres travel by sound, Emma," Snow said. "We wouldn't want to be noticed by them."

"Oh…" Emma said, but it was clear she didn't really understand what it meant. Disappointment was obvious in her tone.

"It's okay Emma. The morning will be here before you know it," Ariel said with a smile. "Now, I think it's time we eat. I believe Eric kept some things from lunch."

"So… what do you eat here?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow. "I can't imagine you eat chicken and beef…"

Ariel chuckled. "Eric will indulge himself in meat, like chimera, but most of the time, we eat vegetables and fruits. Sometimes I'll eat rice that Eric's chefs make, but… we haven't been able to find any wild rice around here."

Emma went a little pale. "Chimera? Like from mythology?"

"If that is what's in your world… yes, like mythology," Ariel replied, a smile dancing on her face. "But you can just eat what I've created with the plant life I've been able to gather. Nothing 'mythological' about it, I promise."

"Normally I'm not a fan of vegetarian dishes, but if it's either that or chimera… I'm all for it," Emma said, laughing a little.

Snow, meanwhile, lit up at the mention of chimera. "Chimera? You have some? I haven't had that in years."

Eric laughed. "Yeah, Ariel managed to save some with the little bit of magic she can do without being close to the sea."

"The only reason I saved that was because you shoved it in with my stew," Ariel teased. "Thank the gods you managed to wrap it up so it didn't leak." Otherwise, her own dish would have been ruined. "Here, let me get it out for you both."

She moved over to the small cooler Eric had managed to make out of bark, that Ariel kept food and water cold in. It wasn't the same as it was at the castle, but it worked for now. "Here Snow, Emma. I hope you enjoy this, since you're not particularly used to eating a vegetarian diet." Though, she couldn't understand how someone could avoid eating normal things like vegetables and fruits.

Emma took it with a slight smile, before sniffing it and taking a small bite, her face relaxing. "Wow. This is really good. Thank you Ariel."

Ariel smiled. "It was my mother's recipe… of course, I had to modify it since we're not near any seaweed, but… it works." Until they got everything back to normal… it would work.

The four ate in silence, only broken by one of the adults wrangling Melody back from trying to escape or get into something she shouldn't.

When the sun set, they retired to bed, once Ariel managed to coax the babe to sleep.

They left the camp once the sun came up, no one none the wiser until they awoke, on two horses, each carrying a small bag, and Melody strapped carefully to her mother's chest.

_Storybrooke, Maine_

"What happens… if we cross the border?" Rumpelstiltskin asked Prince Charming.

Charming turned, his face serious – and that struck the imp as very concerning. This… could not be good.

"We lose all memories of our other life. Looks like we're stuck here."

The words felt like a physical blow to his chest. _No._ He couldn't go find Bae in this world.

Charming made to leave again, and Rumpelstiltskin called out to him. "Wait! One last question. Have you seen Princess Ariel or Prince Eric?"

Charming paused, his hand on the handle, his face deep in thought, before he shook his head. "You know… I haven't. Not even when I had David's memories do I remember seeing them in town."

_That _was even worse.

"Why?"

Rumpelstiltskin grinned an impish grin. "Remember our deal. No interference."

Charming sighed. "Right. Thanks for the potion."

The monarch turned, walking out of the shop. Rumpelstiltskin waited a few moments, before lifting his cane and smashing the nearest display case.

This was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to be able to have Ariel cast that spell (he was too impure to do it himself) so they could go home, and so he could raise his son.

But they were stuck, and he had no way to contact her.

Unless…

Magic was there. Magic… though different, might be able to work in his favor once again.


	7. The Castle

_Storybrooke, Maine_

Rumpelstiltskin opened a cupboard that he usually kept locked, looking in it for something, anything, that would allow him to contact the princess that was trapped in their world, the one that had their only escape from this one. The one who could re-do everything.

Then again… the savior, Miss Swan, had fallen into that world, and if she agreed, perhaps Ariel would be able to cast the spell… and he would be able to get what he wanted after all.

Even so, a little reminder couldn't hurt, could it?

Sighing, the imp ran a hand through his hair. There had to be something here of hers that he could use to try to contact her. Something that she might have herself.

He bit his lip, a nervous tick of his he thought he'd left behind in his other life. He supposed with the return of his memories, brought his old habits back as well.

Reaching far back into the cabinet, he felt something brush against his hand. Rumpelstiltskin raised an eyebrow, wondering if something had been knocked over, when he realized it was something very small.

"Huh…" he hummed, taking it into his hand, opening it, and finding…

A small piece of shell. The shell Ursula had on that day so long ago. He'd saved two small pieces of it… giving the other to Ariel as a token of her grandfather.

The imp grinned a devilish grin. It seemed the Fates wanted him to find his son after all.

Now all he had to do was create a spell to actually allow him to communicate.

_A.P.O.V_

Ariel was amazed at how well Melody had been travelling with them so far. She'd been concerned – very concerned, for both Melody's safety and the safety of themselves, knowing Melody wouldn't understand why they had to stay quiet all night. Ariel had set up a small amount of protection around the girl, in case she did cry, but Melody had been very good. Ariel bounced her as they rode their horses, nearing the castle Snow lived at.

She heard a sharp intake of breath from Snow, and she looked over.

"We're near my castle, aren't we?"

Ariel nodded. "Yes, we are. Didn't you recognize the path, Snow? You know we had to go past your castle in order to get to Eric's."

Snow looked a little pale. "Can we… can we stop and go in there?"

Ariel rested her chin on Eric's shoulder, and he nodded. "Of course we can Snow."

"Where is this?" Emma asked, her face showing true disbelief.

"The castle Emma. The place you were born. Our _home."_

The way Snow said 'home' made Ariel smile. They would be home soon – and Snow could raise Emma the way she'd always wanted to, and from what she was saying, the way Emma _deserved_ to be raised.

Ariel could see part of the grand towers that once held the wicked Queen Regina, before Snow had changed her mind and freed her. Ariel didn't understand how Snow could have done such a thing, especially now all things considered…

Emma stared, and let out a breath as Snow guided the horse in the direction of the castle. They stopped near a slight cliff, and Ariel took a deep breath of the salty air. They were closer, but still too far from her kingdom for her to be able to cast it.

She rarely admitted this, but she needed her father's help with it. Never had she cast something so powerful before. She knew her father had – to protect their castle from Ursula when the battles had first begun. He would know how to help her keep her wits about her when it came to this.

Ariel stared at the castle as they arrived, stunned that it looked so awful, so dark and drab. So… lifeless. It was terrible.

Snow's breath caught again, and Ariel could tell her friend was ready to break down and sob. Ariel couldn't blame her. If her home looked like that, she would sob as well. Looking over at Emma, Ariel noticed she was simply staring with a blank look on her face. Ariel couldn't tell what the look exactly was – but she hoped it was one of awe.

"That's… our castle?" Emma murmured to Snow, who nodded.

As they stopped at the castle's doors, Ariel stared in horror. It was awful. Walls were crumbling, the doors were laying in giant pieces around the area, windows were shattered. Snow's mother had those windows made especially for her, and Ariel was heartbroken to see them completely destroyed.

Snow was the first one off the horses, and ran up to the castle, with Emma on her heels. Ariel adjusted Melody, scooping her out of the carrier around her shoulders and tapping her nose, to a sleepy giggle.

"We should stay here tonight," Ariel said quietly to Eric as they slowly made their way inside the castle.

Eric nodded, looking out what had once been a window. "The sun is starting to fade. It's a good idea."

Melody gurgled from Ariel's arms, and the woman bounced her gently, making her giggle again, before her eyes slipped closed.

_E.P.O.V_

Emma couldn't believe she was standing in a castle. Her parents castle. The one that she had a feeling she would be in charge of by now if Regina had let her parents raise her properly.

Mary-Margaret… Momgret… her mother, seemed to know exactly where she was going though, so Emma had no chance to look around as the light outside dimmed. They would have to set up camp soon.

"Mary-Margaret, where are we going?" Emma asked.

"The… the nursery," she murmured. Emma could barely hear her, but her eyes widened. The nursery. Her nursery.

Emma followed Mary-Margaret, every thought in her head conflicting. All her life, she'd thought her parents had left her on the side of the road like garbage, but seeing this, knowing and believing the truth… it was overwhelming to her.

Finally, they arrived in a circular room, destroyed by the curse and whatever else had happened in the nearly twenty-nine years the inhabitants on this world were trapped in.. the land without magic. Her land? No, _this _was supposed to be her land. Not that other world where her life had been filled with pain and suffering.

She was so confused, remaining deep in thought until she felt Mary-Margret grab her arm and stop her. Emma frowned, looking at the woman in confusion, but the ebony haired woman was simply staring, so Emma followed her gaze.

Her eyes met what should have been the most beautiful nursery she'd ever seen.

Gaping, Emma could only stare at the beautiful room before her. Granted, it was a mess, but even so… Emma could understand.

She'd been _wanted_. She'd been _loved,_ even before she was even born.

Mary-Margaret moved, going to the crib and lifting up a teddy bear, dirt riddled and worn, despite being frozen in time for twenty-eight years.

"The dwarves built this for you, you know," Mary-Margaret said.

Emma remained frozen by the door. She wanted to run. She didn't want to be confronted by all of this. Not like this. All her life, she'd wanted to know she was loved, but doing it like this, and not with bottles of wine, and parents that were in their fifties or forties, just felt wrong to her.

"It's… it's beautiful," Emma said, her throat suddenly dry.

Mary-Margaret smiled, her eyes wet with tears. "Come in, Emma… this will be _your_ room after all."

Emma was confused for a moment, before she understood. Her agreeing to have Ariel cast that spell that would reverse everything. "Right. That."

Mary-Margaret looked concerned, and took Emma's hand. "Are you sure this is what you want? If you let Ariel do this, there's no turning back, no guaranteeing what will happen to Henry."

She knew that, she did, but she, like Snow, wanted a do-over. She wanted to be able to raise her son, like Mary-Margaret wanted to be able to raise her.

"Yes," Emma said. "Because if there's a second chance, I want to take it. I've never… met someone who cares so much about me, a-and to see this, all of it… to see you and David the way you were in Storybrooke when the curse broke… I know that we both deserve it. I've never had any kind of second chance… and I want to take it. Besides… it might be fun to grow up like a princess." After the life she'd had, anything would be better.

"And Henry?"

"Even if he doesn't become my twin, or my brother, or even if he doesn't go back to not existing… if he stays the way he is now, that will be for the best for him. He'll be happier here than he is in Storybrooke."

Her mother sighs again, tears in her eyes. "I was going to teach you how to walk in here… how to talk… to dress you for your first ball… and I never got to do any of it."

"But you will," Emma said firmly, grasping Snow's hands in her own. "You _will."_

"And you," Snow said, her gentle hands touching Emma's cheeks again, forcing her to look into her eyes. "You will be so loved, and I promise, I won't make you too girly."

Emma couldn't help but laugh, before spotting something tree-like in the corner of the room. "What's this?"

Snow followed her gaze. "That was the portal that Charming put you in. The one that saved you."

"Why didn't you come with me? Why did you send August instead?"

Snow suddenly frowned. "We… we didn't send August. We were told the tree could only hold one. I was to go, but… then you came early."

Emma stared. "You didn't know?"

Her mother shook her head. "No. We didn't. We were lied to it appears."

Anger boiled in the Savior's veins. "You… you'll say something to them, right? When everything is reversed?"

Snow nodded, her face frighteningly like Emma's when Emma got angry. "You have no idea. I'll have to speak to Charming about it…" Emma noticed she was avoiding saying 'your father' whenever she could, "but we'll say something to them. Absolutely."

She really was like a mother after all.

* * *

'Momgret' comes from the Once Upon a Time Abridged series by DaesGatling (or Thoraxe-The-Impaler on IMDb). Check it out, it's hilarious!


	8. Ariel's Price

"You… you care," Emma said. "I'm just not… I guess I'm just not used to someone putting me first."

Mary-Margaret smiled, pulling her close. "Well, get used to it."

Emma rested against her shoulder, head dropping onto it. "Thank you… and for understanding why I want to do this spell thing…"

Her mother stroked her cheek. "You're an adult now Emma. I can't very well demand you do this or that… because I know you won't exactly listen to me."

Emma laughed a little. "Yeah yeah," she mumbled, wiping the tears out of her eyes that had suddenly appeared. God, she never thought she would have something like this happen in her life.

Both of them looked up at the sound of footsteps, noticing Ariel and Eric standing in the doorway, their faces unreadable.

"We need to make camp, Snow," Ariel said. "There are ogres about."

She still couldn't believe this was real. Any of it, but especially the ogres. They seemed to be bad, if they had her mother, Ariel and Eric on edge.

Her mother nodded, pulling away slightly. "We'll stay here tonight then." Her voice seemed happy about it, but her face remained still. Emma wasn't sure what to think about it, staying in the castle that she was born in, that she could only spend a few moments in before she was forced away from her parents.

A tree crashed down somewhere outside, and Emma jumped. Melody began to cry in fear, and Ariel and Eric quickly began singing to her. Emma ran to the window, looking out. She would have grown up with an incredible view of the kingdom, but right now, she stared at the... _things_ that were lumbering around in the forest.

No wonder they were all terrified of them.

"Oh my God," she murmured.

Her mother went to the window, watching. "Yep… Four wars and countless other skirmishes…" she sighed. "Hopefully when we go back we won't have to deal with them too…" She looked around the room, looking for Ariel or Eric to confirm or deny what she'd said, but they were off taking care of Melody. "They shouldn't bother us now though… not since Melody seems to have calmed down, and if we don't make too much noise."

Emma hoped that was true.

_A.P.O.V_

"Shh Melody, it's okay. No one will hurt us," she murmured softly to the eight month old, who still looked terrified, though had stopped crying. "I've got you, and Daddy's here too. We'll keep you safe and sound."

Melody curled tight into Ariel's chest as Eric put his hand on Melody's back, a silent gesture telling her that he was there, to protect her from everything out in the world.

They sat in one of the many guest bedrooms in the castle, on a bed that was in shockingly good condition, despite the curse ripping through the entire palace.

Melody babbled softly, looking up at her mother, who looked back at her with identical eyes. It pained Ariel to know that Snow never got moments like these with Emma. Ariel forced a smile on her face. "It's okay darling, I promise you."

Her child closed her eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Ariel smiled, carefully laying her on the bed. Eric's arms wrapped around her, and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I love you," he murmured in her ear.

"I love you too," she replied, just gazing at her child.

"Can't believe you're willing to go through the pain of labor again. You are the most amazing woman in the world."

"It's not like I have a choice, Eric. I made that deal with _him_."

Eric nodded, his face suddenly turning serious. "But what will be your price? All magic comes with a price… and _he_ created that so…"

"So anything could happen to me. I know," Ariel said, biting her lip. "Believe me Eric, I thought about not telling them, but Snow… she just seemed so desperate to have those years back with Emma, and Emma seems so hardened from whatever it was she went through before she found Storybook or whatever it's called. She deserves to be happy with her parents."

Eric nodded. "I'm worried about you though. About what it could mean for us."

"He said we would bring back the happy endings… so that should mean that we won't go through anything bad," Ariel murmured.

"Gods willing," Eric replied, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Ariel sighed. "Yes."

It was a terrifying thought, what could happen when she cast it. She didn't want to let Snow down, but she also didn't want something awful to happen to the family she herself had worked hard and fought for to get.

She didn't want to lose it.

"Let's just… go to bed. We can talk about this in the morning," Ariel murmured, laying down on the bed, wanting to sleep.

Eric sighed, but nodded. Neither of them were in the right mood to talk about something like this, not now.

Ariel curled tightly into her husband's chest, much like her daughter had to her earlier, the rhythmic feeling of his heartbeat lulling her to sleep.

_Snow P.O.V_

She'd left the decision up to Emma, about where she wanted to sleep tonight. Emma had decided on sleeping in the nursery, as emotional as it'd made both of them.

Emma was asleep, her fingers brushing against the teddy bear Snow had lifted up earlier that evening. One that Ella had made for her upon hearing the news of her pregnancy.

No matter how hard she tried, however, Snow found herself unable to sleep. Being here, in this room, was too much for the princess to bear. She wanted Emma to be small enough to fit in that crib Gepetto and Pinocchio had slaved over for months before Emma's arrival.

Speaking of… Snow wasn't sure how to feel about them right now, nor about the Blue Fairy. Pinocchio had abandoned Emma, made her feel like she had no one in that other world, and it made Snow sick. Even if the wardrobe had been able to hold two, Snow still could have gone with her, and if Emma hadn't come early, she and David never would have been parted and gone through that absolute hell that had been the life of 'Mary-Margaret Blanchard' and 'David Nolan'.

What would they do about Gepetto? He'd lied, saved his own child, which Snow could understand very well, but…

That child had left her own alone, growing up to be so harsh, so serious, so… cold. Walls had built up around Emma. She could only imagine what Emma would've been like if August hadn't left her, or if she and James would've been able to go with her. Emma would've been happy, free, and probably with someone she really loved.

And dear Henry would have been able to be raised by his mother. His real mother. Not someone like Regina, who'd ruined their lives, tormented all of them for years, and years.

As much as Snow wanted to believe she could have changed, it was clear that Regina wouldn't. Snow sighed, feeling her eyes droop, and she let them close, feeling herself pulled into dreams she'd always had.

Ones of her family.

_R.P.O.V_

Weeks had passed, and the imp grinned as he gazed at the potion in the flask. This would work, he knew it. This would allow him to contact the woman he needed to contact. Perfect.

Carefully, he poured a little bit of it over the shell, watching as it glowed. Belle stood next to him, the man having been coaxed into telling her what exactly it was he'd been doing down in the basement, or in his shop. It was only fair, after all she'd been through, partially because of him.

"Did it… work?" she murmured.

"Let's find out Belle, shall we?" he replied, lifting the shell carefully in his hand. "Ariel? Ariel, can you hear me?"

_A.P.O.V_

They'd reached their castle yesterday, but it hadn't been an easy feat. They'd been slowed by ogres, having to wait a few days until they'd moved on… something had been quite difficult with a baby. Even so, they'd managed to do it, and thank the Gods they had. Emma and Snow were starting to get anxious, and Ariel could understand. They wanted it done before Emma changed her mind, and Ariel wanted to get it done before she changed hers.

_"Princess Ariel, if you can hear me, say something."_

Her eyes shot open, wide with shock. That voice… it sounded so much like _his,_ but it _couldn't_ have been. He was still trapped in that other world, right? The land without magic.

Where was that voice coming from?

She looked around, and spotted the fragment of her grandfather's shell that she'd kept glowing.

Grasping the blanket, Ariel draped it over herself, somehow not waking Eric, who was asleep next to her, and went to the shell, which was sitting on her vanity.

"R-Rumpelstiltskin?" she asked, hesitantly.

_"Ah, dearie, you can hear me. Good."_

"H-how are you doing this?" she asked. "I-I thought that land didn't have magic."

_"It didn't. But I brought it. I thought it would help us… escape from this world, but it hasn't. Now… do you still have that spell?"_

Ariel almost nodded, but instead she spoke. "Yes. I do."

_"Do you know where Snow White and Emma are?"_

"Asleep in another room. They're with us."

_"Ah, excellent. Where are you?"_

"Eric's palace."

Eric had awoken, and was sitting up in bed, watching. Ariel saw he was awake, and took the shell over to him, sitting next to him, his arm wrapping around him.

_"Good. Cast that spell."_

"We can't yet," Ariel said. "Emma and Snow aren't awake. And there's something I need to know Rumpelstiltskin…"

_"Are we making another deal, dearie?"_

"No. This is something you should have told me before we made our original one."

_"And that is?"_

"What is my price for casting this?"

Rumpelstiltskin went silent, and it made Ariel's heart sink.

"Tell us, imp!" Eric said. "Will we lose each other? Will she die?"

_"No. Neither of those."_

"Then what is it, Rumpelstiltskin?" Ariel asked, not wanting Eric to explode.

_"You will lose your magic."_


	9. The Morning

The imp's words ran through her head. Lose her magic. Lose the ability to become a mermaid again. Lose the chances to speak to her father as a mermaid. Lose the chance to show her daughter what it was like to swim as a mermaid.

Become _completely_ human.

_"Ariel? You're not thinking about going back on our deal, are you?"_

She felt Eric's arms around her, trying to soothe the obvious tension in her body.

"You've scared her, Rumpelstiltskin," Eric said.

_"Oh now dearie. I'm not scary."_

"She's pale, staring at the wall. You're calling that not scary?"

She could barely hear the words being spoken around her. She knew what was going on, but she couldn't think. She didn't want to think. She was scared of the thought of losing her magic. But… a deal was a deal. She knew what happened if someone went back on a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, and it could be a lot worse than the consequences of the original deal. She shivered, turning back to the shell, which was barely in her hand.

"I-I'm not going back on the deal, Rumpelstiltskin. It's just… a lot to process. Imagine you losing your powers after a lifetime."

Rumpelstiltskin went quiet again, and Ariel shivered, murmuring. "I-I guess Melody wi-will have to learn to swim from Father, and my sisters…"

"I'm sorry darling…" Eric said, pressing a gentle kiss to her head.

Ariel took a deep breath, looking at the shell again. "The spell will be cast, R-Rumpelstiltskin. It's for the greater good."

_"Good, dearie. I don't want anything to happen to your one twu wuv."_

The way he said that had shivers going down Ariel's spine. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she lost Eric.

"I will cast it tonight, during high tide." That was the best time for her to do it, since the water reached farther onto the shore, allowing her to feel more of the power of it.

Power she would be losing.

But it wasn't important. What was important was saving everyone, restoring peace to the lands, and allowing everyone to grow up the way they were supposed to. Melody and Emma would be friends, rather than strangers, and Snow would be able to raise her little girl, like she'd always dreamed. So… if she couldn't turn into a mermaid at will, or teach Melody how to deep-sea dive, using the water to form words in times of crisis, then so be it. She had enough family to be able to teach her daughter these things.

She'd teach her daughter other things. How to sing, how to walk and talk, with Snow teaching Emma the same thing. That would be nice.

The shell topped glowing, evidence that the magic was no longer working on it. Strange, considering Rumpelstiltkin was the one that created it.

"Magic must work different in that land," Eric said. "Not last long at all."

Ariel nodded. "Magic isn't supposed to be in that world. It makes sense that it's not working properly."

Sighing, she set the shell back down on the table, her shoulders tense.

Eric sat behind her, rubbing her shoulders, trying to calm her down, as he always did. "You don't have to do this. He can't hurt you if you don't. He's trapped in that other world."

"What if he finds a way back? Eric… I have to do this. This is not about me, or my powers. This is about the thousands of people trapped in an unfamiliar world." She sighed again. "I have to put them ahead of myself."

It was what being a monarch was about. Doing the best for one's people.

Standing up, she smoothed out her gown and made her way to Melody's nursery, lifting up the small girl, who giggled as she was lifted into the air. Ariel would miss watching her stumble around as she tried to walk, but she also knew that she would have another chance to, when she finally cast the spell.

"We're going to do something amazing Melody," Ariel murmured to her daughter. Eric stood by the door, not wanting to interrupt. "Today, we're going to bring everyone back here. We're going to fix all the bad things that happened. And when that's done, you'll have lots of new friends to play with you. Emma, and Alexandra…"

Melody didn't seem to understand, squirming and giggling in her mother's arms. Ariel simply chuckled and kissed her daughter's head. "You're so silly." Melody made a noise, as if telling her mother she disagreed with her statement, and Ariel laughed, tapping her nose, to more squirming.

Eric suddenly stepped into the room, clearing his throat. "Emma and Snow are awake," he murmured. "Have you told them when you were going to do this?"

"Oh, are they?" Ariel said, looking up at him. "No, I haven't. I'll go tell them now." With that, she left the room, heading to the other wing of the castle, where their guests were.

Gods, why was she so _nervous_ about this? She shouldn't be, they'd known they were going to do this for weeks now.

Was it maybe the fact that tonight was actually the night?

"Snow, Emma," she said, when she spotted them in the hallway. "Tonight is the night."

Emma looked up, slightly pale. Ariel could tell she was nervous about this.

"Emma, are you okay?" she asked, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You know that everything will be okay, right?"

Emma nodded, a bit nervously. "I-I guess it's all really sunk in. I'm going to go back to being… inside of Mary Margaret, and Henry will cease to exist…"

"But not forever, Emma," Ariel said. They had to go through with this. She couldn't let anything happen to Eric. "And besides, when Henry found out the curse broke, how did he react? How did he react when he was talking to you about it before you believed? When he was telling you stories, showing you that book you told me about?"

Emma smiled a little. "He wanted to come here so badly. See all of it. Experience the life of a prince."

Ariel smiled a little. "And that is what you will give him."

"My memories though. I won't remember being this… badass who saved the lives of everyone I grew up with."

Ariel smiled. "Perhaps… but you'll know the story."

Snow and Emma both looked confused.

"How are stories told, Emma?" she asked, urging her to think.

Emma frowned. "A-a book?"

"That's right… a book. Rumpelstiltskin said there will always be ways to remember this, besides hearing it from your parents… but sometimes, children don't exactly believe stories from their parent's childhood, so what better way to hear a story than from a book?"


	10. Blue

Emma stared. "So I still can't escape my parents being in a storybook?"

Ariel couldn't help but laugh, as Snow smiled. "I suppose not, Emma," she said with a slight smile. "But… this time it'll be for a good reason. You'll be there too, as a hero, without your father having to abandon you in a tree, alone in another world."

The blonde shrugged. "I guess."

"Your bedtime stories will be amazing, won't they?" Snow asked, smiling a little. "Amazing and true."

Emma's lips twisted into a slight smile. "Y-yeah… but it's not the stories that are important. It's the fact that you'll be able to tell me them. I won't have to hear them from someone who really doesn't give a damn about me."

Snow smiled and hugged Emma tight. "You don't know how excited I am to be able to raise you."

Ariel was silent, allowing them to have a private mother-daughter moment, twenty eight years in the making, twenty-eight years too late.

Soon to be reversed.

"Ariel," Emma suddenly asked. "When are you doing this?"

Ariel's lips tightened in a thin line, not wanting to show that anything was going to be wrong. "Tonight," she said simply. "At high tide."

"Something's wrong, isn't it?"

The mermaid's eyebrows raised. How could she possibly realize? Upon realizing that Ariel was… confused, Emma spoke again. "I know how to read people, really well. You seem nervous about something."

"It's nothing you need to concern yourselves with," Ariel said.

"Ariel," Snow said, her tone motherly. Firm, but comforting.

Ariel shook her head. "Please Snow. You don't need to worry about this. I promise. It is my responsibility, not yours."

She didn't want to say anything. She didn't want to make them want to backtrack. She didn't want them to worry about something like this.

"If you're in trouble, if he's going to hurt you because you cast this thing – " Emma began, before Ariel held up her hand.

"No. It's nothing like that…" she sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. "I'm sure you've heard by now that all magic comes with a price, right?"

Emma nodded.

"My price… for casting this spell will be the loss of my mermaid magic," Ariel said, not wanting to break down in front of her friends. She had to be strong for them. Emma would be going through something Ariel couldn't even imagine.

Snow stared in shock. "Your magic? But Ariel, what about teaching Melody all the things mermaids can do?"

Ariel shrugged. "Father and my sisters will have to teach her. I can tell her the stories, but… actually showing her… well…" It wasn't like there was anything she could do about it..

"You would give all of that up… for me? For us?" Snow asked, tears obviously in her eyes.

The mermaid nodded. "It's not like I exactly have a choice, Snow. He threatened Eric when I seemed hesitant about doing it. I couldn't sacrifice Eric for my own selfishness by not casting the spell. Besides… it is a worthy sacrifice. You will be able to raise your daughter, Emma will know happiness, and we bring everyone home."

It would be worth it. That was what sacrifice was about. She would be happy, even if it would take a while to adjust to not having any magic anymore.

Even so, she would be able to do it. She was a strong woman, like her mother and sisters, and she knew Melody would be the same way… eventually.

"Come on… breakfast," she said, breaking the uncomfortable silence and stares that Emma and Snow were giving her.

Ariel started making her way downstairs, when Snow stopped her, gently taking her arm. Ariel's jaw set in a firm line. She didn't want to talk about anything now. She just wanted to get through the day and cast the spell that would change their lives forever.

"Ariel…" Snow's soft and gentle voice said. "Please talk."

The woman shook her head. "No. I don't want to talk about this Snow. Please don't make me."

Snow's grip became firm. "I just want you to know that if there's anything you want… anything you need…"

Oh there was something she wanted, but she knew Snow would never be able to get it for her, so she shook her head again. "Snow… I'm honored to do something like this. It's fair and right and… it will be worth it. Let's just… go eat. We can spend the day by the sea before night falls and we have to cast the spell."

She walked silently away, hearing Snow follow her, also awkwardly silent. It wasn't natural for the two of them to be so quiet together but… this was a heavy blow to both of them. To be honest though, she was surprised she had any bit of her magic left when she was turned human by her father.

Melody's excited babbles greeted them as they entered the room, Emma tickling the tiny girl's ribs with a grin on her face, murmuring something to her.

"Emma really is good with her, isn't she?" Ariel murmured to Snow.

Snow nodded. "Yeah… Emma adjusted quickly to Henry, even though Henry was already older. Though… she doesn't get nearly enough time with him. Regina is too controlling over him. I think it's some sort of sick, twisted way to shove 'victory' in my face because of the curse, and because I lost my daughter for twenty-eight years, but she could raise a child from nearly his birth."

Ariel reached over, taking the princess's hand. "Do not think of that Snow White. You will be able to raise your daughter, and she will be able to raise her son."

"What if Henry's father isn't from this world?"

Ariel smiled a little. "Do not think of that. Destiny works, always. Henry _will _be born. Surely you know that."

Snow shrugged. "It's so hard to believe now… Regina's curse has taken a lot out of me."

"I know."

The meal was eaten in silence, aside from the occasional tap of Melody's nose, or one of them trying to converse with the small girl. Ariel was very thankful for her, because otherwise she knew this would be a lot more difficult to get through than it already was.

That night, as the sun set, Ariel stood on the beach, the water lapping at her feet, magic humming in her body. Eric, Emma and Snow stood behind her, Melody in Eric's arms, staring wide-eyed at what was going on.

Taking a deep breath, Ariel gathered some of the water into a cauldron they'd managed to rescue from the basement of their castle.

The woman stared out at the sea, inhaling the salty air. Oh, she would miss the feeling of the water moving over her skin, speaking to the undersea creatures…

She looked over at Eric, who gave her an encouraging nod, before taking the vial out of the pouch at her hip, and pouring it into the cauldron. It turned red, then blue, smoke rising from it, waiting for Ariel to start speaking.

Clearing her throat, the woman looked out to the sea, spreading her arms.

_"Ariel!_ What are you doing?!" she heard a voice cry. Her father. She would know the man's voice anywhere.

"F-father, I… you know I made a deal with Rumpelstiltkin. I'm doing my end of the deal…" Ariel explained, not wanting to deal with this now. It was way too much for the night. "Please father, I have to do this…"

"No. The risk is too great for you, darling. I will do it," Triton said.

"Father, _no._ This is my job. I have to do this," Ariel replied, looking wearily at the potion, which was still bubbling and smoking.

"It's a father's job to protect his daughter. As long as this is done, does it matter who did it? Rumpelstiltskin will not know who did it, will he?"

Ariel stared at her father. "But father, the price is the loss of your magic. You're a king, I cannot allow something like this."

Triton sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You are my daughter. That is what parents do for their children. Sacrifice. Athena is already groomed to take over my throne when I pass."

"But father I-"

Triton ignored her protests though, and took the sheet of parchment from her hand, beginning to speak.

"We call upon the powers of goodness and light, help us restore our lands. Destinies were taken away from us, lives have been ruined and lost. Restore our faith and good will. Take away the powers of the Dark Curse, and bring home those who were damned to live lives they would not choose."

Ariel curled into Eric, watching as the cauldron boiled over, blue smoke starting to spread over the lands.

"Let the darkness be swallowed whole!"

Her father's voice boomed, and Ariel screamed as she and Eric were enveloped in the smoke…


	11. Broken

_Storybrooke, Maine_

Prince Charming sighed as he watched his grandson Henry sitting at the counter in Snow's apartment, just staring at a photograph of Snow and Emma. Henry had been doing this everyday when he got home from school, or from being out with himself, trying to help the town piece together everything that had happened to them in the twenty-eight years they were cursed.

"Henry," he said softly, kneeling down next to him.

"I know, I know. You believe they're alive, and you'll always find them, but…" Henry began, before he stared out the window, his mouth frozen in an 'o'.

"Henry?"

The boy pointed, and Charming followed his gaze, before he himself stared.

Blue smoke was billowing through the town, and Charming couldn't help but feel like this had happened once before, when Regina had unleashed the curse. He grabbed Henry as the smoke came nearer.

"Gramps! What's going on?!" Henry cried.

"I don't know Henry! Just hang on tight to me!"

Henry didn't hesitate, and Charming's arms wrapped tight around him as the windows shattered, the smoke enveloping them. Charming heard Henry cry out, and he tightened his grip, before he felt the boy shrinking, growing smaller and smaller until finally…

He vanished.

"HENRY!"

_A.P.O.V_

It was a familiar sensation that forced her to open her eyes in the… she supposed it was morning judging by the angle of the sun shining on her face.

Ariel groaned a little at a sharp kick, as if Melody was protesting being back inside of her again. Not that she could really blame the… well, now she was an unborn child. She sat up as well as she could, gazing around.

Their castle was fixed.

"Eric, wake up!" she said, shaking the man next to her. "It worked!"

Eric groaned, before slowly opening his eyes. "What? It did?"

Ariel nodded, pointing at her re-expanded stomach. She could hear the bustle of their workers in the castle, shock clear. Eric smiled, putting his hand on her stomach, chuckling as Melody kicked at his hand.

"She doesn't like being back in there, does she?" he remarked, before getting out of bed, going to her side to help her up.

"No, I don't think she does at all," Ariel replied, standing properly. It would be strange to re-adjust to this feeling again… and suddenly something occurred to her. "Eric… where's my father?"

Eric looked out the window, before frowning. "I don't know. He's not out there."

Ariel suddenly went pale. "H-he's not?" Oh no, this couldn't possibly be good. "Eric, we need to get outside… and make sure he's okay!"

Eric nodded, carefully helping Ariel down the stairs, to the ocean. Sea foam, aqua blue foam.

The color of her father's tail.

Her father was dead.

"FATHER!" she shrieked, shaking. Oh Gods, how could this happen? Rumpelstiltskin had said she'd only lose her powers, not die!

"I'll go speak with Rumpelstiltskin. We will figure this out Ariel, I swear," she heard Eric say, though just barely. She was still shaking terribly as she saw something glint in the water.

His trident.

Sniffling, Ariel went over to it, lifting it up and holding it close. "W-what should I do with this?" she asked.

"Give it to Athena…" Eric murmured. "She'll need it to run your father's kingdom. Now I'm going to go find Rumpelstiltskin, okay? Why don't you check up on Snow and James? Make sure it actually worked the way it was supposed to for them?"

Ariel nodded, clutching the trident to her chest, not wanting to let it go.

Eric was gentle as he took it into his hands. "Ariel, go," he looked up at their bewildered carriage driver. "Ready a carriage to Snow White and Prince James' palace."

The confused man nodded, carefully leading Ariel to their carriage. "Majesty…" he said. "What happened? Why are we back? Why are you pregnant again?"

Ariel swallowed. "My… my father cast a spell on the lands… to bring everyone back, and to r-reset everything the way it was before the curse hit."

Their driver gasped. "Really? So we… we're okay?"

"Regina will have to be stopped, but yes, we are safe for now. Her curse will never be cast. The spell will be sure of that."

"How?"

Ariel shrugged. "I don't know, but I know it will not work."

The driver whistled under his breath as the carriage moved down the road, Ariel staring blankly out the window as people adjusted to being back in their world.

Finally, they pulled up to Snow and Charming's castle.

_Snow P.O.V_

"Snow? Snow, wake up…"

The princess groaned, arm wrapping around the bulge in her stomach –

Bulge…

Snow's eyes flew open, sitting up quickly, well, as quickly as she could with her stomach.

It had _worked._

"He did it…" she whispered, feeling _Emma_ kick against her hand.

"Snow, who did what? Where's Henry? Why are you… why are _we…_?" Charming's voice said, clearly confused. Snow simply smiled and turned to him.

"We're back, Charming. We're back and we get a second chance to raise Emma," she replied. "Triton, he cast a spell. It reversed everything."

Charming stared at her. "This is incredible… so… Henry…"

Snow's face fell at the mention of their… now-former, unborn grandson. "Henry won't make an appearance for a while…" It was a depressing thought. She still had memories of being his teacher.

She remembered the sad, shy little boy in her fourth grade classroom. She remembered him spilling his life story, about Regina making him feel like he was crazy, and feeling so sorry for him. When she'd given him that book, he had lit up like the sun. It had been so sweet to see.

The fact that he was gone hurt… but she knew one day he would find his way back to them again.

Snow sighed and put a hand on her stomach. "It will be difficult Charming but… Henry will be able to be raised by Emma, and he won't have to know Regina." Regina would be taken care of before Henry was born.

Charming stroked her cheek. "So we must wait again…"

Snow nodded. "We still have our memories though… and Ariel promised we would have a book, so he will know his story when he is born, as will Emma."

Charming smiled a little. "Book… who would have thought that your book would have led to all of us being saved?"

"Snow," a confused Grumpy said, walking into the room. "Ariel is here. And she's pregnant again…"

Snow smiled. "Charming… I think you need to make an announcement to the kingdom, while I go see what Ariel wants… I know I'm normally the talker, but I know you can do it."

Her husband smiled again and nodded, brushing his lips gently against her cheek. "Have fun."

With that, he followed Grumpy out of the room, Snow hearing their voices as she made her way downstairs, not bothering to change out of her dressing gown.

"Ariel!" she said, beaming as she spotted the pregnant former mermaid.

"Snow…" the other woman replied hoarsely. "You… you're pregnant again. Good… it worked."

She could tell something is wrong. "Yes. I see you are too… is everything okay?"

Ariel shook her head, and Snow embraced her, leading her to a comfortable sofa. "What happened?"

Snow watched Ariel swallow tight. "M-my f-father… he is dead."

_R.P.O.V_

He couldn't help but cackle as he arrived back in his cell. He knew very well that he would be free soon. He knew Regina would be panicking tonight when the spell didn't work, and he knew that Regina would _pay _for what she did to Belle.

All he had to do was wait for someone to arrive so he could make a deal with them and get out of here so he could find Baelfire and free Belle from her nightmare.

Someone arrived quickly, and Rumpelstiltskin grinned when he saw Eric standing in the shadows. "No need to try and hide from me, dearie. I know it's you."

Eric frowned, removing the hood from his head. "We need to talk."

"Yes, I suppose we do. How is your wife?"

"Upset."

"Naturally," Rumpelstiltskin said. "It must be difficult, losing your magic." He would be losing his soon – Belle's kisses worked very different in this world.

"No. She wound up being forced out of the spell," Eric explained. "Her father cast it."

Rumpelstiltskin frowned. "Triton?"

Eric nodded. "And when we woke up, he was dead."

The imp stared. _That_ wasn't supposed to happen – even if it wasn't Ariel who cast it like their deal had been. Triton was supposed to have lost his magic, like Ariel would have. He wasn't supposed to _die._

"Dearie, I can tell you that whatever happened was no fault of mine. Tell me… how was he health-wise?"

Eric frowned. "As far as we know, he was still very healthy. He had enough magic to cast the spell…"

"Perhaps he was dying anyway," Rumpelstiltskin said. "Even though he cast it, and not Ariel, he was not supposed to die – just pay the price Ariel would have. Ariel should speak to her sisters and ask them how their father was. Now… let's make a deal."

Eric pulled away from the bars. "No. No more deals."

"But dearie… all of the happy endings have been restored – including mine. Shouldn't I be free to get it?"

He saw the prince think it over, before speaking. "What about Thomas?"

"He should already be with his princess."

Eric bit his lip. "Alright. If I let you go to get your happy ending, what do I get in return?"

Rumpelstiltskin grinned. "My alliance to your side."

"Alliance? We aren't having a war."

"Oh no, not yet. But when Regina finds out that her spell won't work… she will not be happy, will she?"

Rumpelstiltskin could tell he had him.

"Fine. You'll be on all of our sides? Charming, Thomas, myself?"

Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "Yes. Against Regina."

"You have a deal then," Eric said, going over to the crank, the bars going up. Even he had to admit – it was quite powerful. He had to give props to the fairies.

Stepping out, he grinned. "Thank you. I'll take you to your wife. Where is she?"

"Snow and Charming's palace," Eric said.

Quickly, Rumpelstiltskin grabbed the man's wrist, going to the palace.


	12. Answers

_R.P.O.V_

"Rumpelstiltskin!" the imp heard the instant he and Eric arrived back at the palace. "How did you get out of prison?!"

He grinned, Charming coming into view, on a horse, obviously ready to go somewhere. "I had some help, dearie. And don't worry, I won't be harming any of you. In fact, I want to help you defeat Regina."

The prince's face turned (understandably) skeptical, but a nod from Eric seemed to calm him down. "Why would you want to help us?" he asked.

"Belle."

Charming's eyes widened. "The woman I helped you find in Storybrooke?"

Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "She's been held captive by Regina for… quite some time, and I can't very well have that."

Charming gave him a look that said he understood what it was like, and Rumpelstiltskin knew he did – very well. Probably better than anyone else in this world.

He heard a groan, familiar, and the three men looked up. A shadowed figure was stumbling around the woods. Rumpelstiltskin ran into the forest, though he could hear Charming and Eric following quickly after him.

"BAE!" he shouted, recognizing the figure instantly.

The figure jumped, turning around in what was obviously shock. "PAPA!"

His _son._ His son was finally back. Finally _home,_ out of that damned Land Without Magic.

"Oh Bae…" he whispered, pulling him close in a hug. "I am so, so sorry. Can you ever, ever forgive me?"

Bae's grip wasn't tight like Rumpelstiltskin was expecting, and that had the imp concerned.

"You abandoned me, Papa," Bae finally said.

Rumpelstiltskin stared at his son. "Bae, I…"

Bae struggled, and Rumpelstiltskin let him go, his eyes wide with fear. What was going on with his son? Why wasn't Bae happy to see him, after too many years?

"Why did you do it, Papa? Why did you leave me in that world alone?" Bae asked, his eyes clearly hurt. Rumpelstiltskin could tell he was conflicted.

"Bae, I was a coward. You know that. But I have you back now. After three-hundred years, I have you back… we can start over. Soon…"

Bae looked at him, half loathing, half loving. "Soon, Papa? That's all you can promise me, is soon?"

Rumpelstiltskin sighed. "We need to have a very long talk, Baelfire, but right now, we need to go rescue someone from a terrible queen."

"Who?"

"Belle. My… my… lover."

Baelfire stared. "Lover?"

Rumpelstiltskin wrapped his arms around his son, vanishing. They had a _lot_ to talk about.

_Charming P.O.V_

The prince shook his head, staring at Eric at the strange thing that had just happened. He'd known Rumpelstiltskin loved a woman, but having a son? Dear Gods, things were so confusing. Right now though, he was not a problem, and for that, Charming was relieved.

"How is Ariel?" he asked,.

Eric shook his head. "Not so good. Her father sacrificed his life for all of us. We found him dead earlier. Nothing left of him but his trident…"

Charming's jaw dropped. He hadn't known the man well at all – having run off on his 'father' before he'd really been able to meet more royalty other than Abigail and Midas (and he did need to check in on them and see how they were doing), but he had heard of Triton's legacy, even as a shepherd. "What happened?" he asked.

Eric shrugged. "We don't know. The price she was supposed to pay for casting the spell to bring us back was only supposed to be a loss of magic… not death. But when I was talking to Rumpelstiltskin, he said that Triton might have been sick and dying. That's the only thing I can think of, but we don't know if it's true or not. We have to talk to her sisters."

Charming nodded again. "I am so sorry about Triton… it is terrible that Melody won't know her grandfather."

Eric smiled, just a little, "at least he got to see her the first time…"

"Take the good with the bad… good way of thinking. Now let's go, we need to check on Snow and Ariel, then gather the War Council so we can defend ourselves from Regina's wrath."

The two princes went back inside, finding their wives sitting in the dining room, chattering away about their children, as they'd often caught them doing before the awful curse took them away from each other, causing he and Snow to lose their daughter.

The daughter they now, my a miracle, had a second chance to raise. Gods, he was grateful to Triton for his sacrifice.

Snow was the first to notice the two men, nudging Ariel's arm gently. The red-haired mermaid looked up at them, eyes still red with tears. Eric went over to her, arms wrapping around her, a kiss placed softly on her head. Charming sat next to Snow, who took his hand.

"Emma seems to be protesting what happened to her," she said, lips quirking up into a slight smile, though Charming could tell she was in a bit of pain.

He smiled, a chuckle escaping him as she put his hand on her stomach, his favorite thing. "Don't worry Emma," he murmured to her, leaning down and kissing the bump on Snow's stomach, "you'll be out of there soon, and you'll know how special you are."

Snow smiled. "She certainly is special, isn't she?"

"More than anyone. Her sacrifice was great. Giving up Henry…"

A nod from his wife, and then she spoke. "Fate brings people back together. Destiny. Whoever Henry's father was… he'll be back for her."

Charming nodded and smiled. "But for now… let's not focus on that far into the future. We have a birth to prepare for."

Snow was in agreement. "And Regina to hide from."

"I suppose the good news is, we have a secret weapon on our hands."

Snow frowned. "What? What is it?"

Charming's eyes danced with glee as he gazed at his wife. "I don't know how, but… Rumpelstiltskin."

Her jaw dropped. "What? How? Why? After he…"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to question it right now. We're going to need his help if we want to defeat Regina. You know she's going to be furious when her curse doesn't work."

His wife's face twisted in fear. "Oh Gods… she is… she's going to come after us… what are we going to do?"

"Shh…" he murmured. "Everything will be okay, I promise. You can't let the worry get to you again… we can't have her come early."

Snow nodded shakily again, and he held her tight.

_A.P.O.V_

Ariel watched, tight in Eric's arms, as Snow and Charming reunited with the bump on Snow's stomach. It was a sweet sight, she had to admit, because she knew Snow and Charming deserved it, more than anyone else in this world. Even so, she was still upset. She missed her father, and she felt that the price was too large for what actually happened.

"I miss father," she murmured in his ear.

"I know," his deep voice rumbled. "We'll try to get Athena to talk to us… we owe her the trident too."

Ariel nodded. "Snow, Charming, we're going to head out. I am so pleased to see that everything is okay with you and Emma."

Snow gave her a smile. "Ariel, everything will be okay, I promise. We're back in the land of happy endings."

The woman nodded, trying hard to believe her. But it was hard – now she was an orphan. Her father wouldn't see Melody grow up and become a beautiful young woman.

Happy endings… yes. She was lucky that she could help bring back the happy endings. There were only few people who didn't deserve those. Regina. Cora. Ursula. Anyone who had tried to stop happy endings from happening.

Eric helped her back into the carriage, never once letting go of her hand.

"So what happens now?"

"Charming will call me back tonight, for the War Council. Once Regina finds out she won't be able to cast the curse, she'll come after us. We have to protect the castle."

Ariel nodded. "Just promise me you'll stay safe. We can't lose you too."

Eric pressed a soft kiss to her hand. "I will stay safe my lady. Do not worry about us."

"I'm your wife Eric, and you might be up against a terrible witch who will no doubt be out for blood when her wicked plan doesn't work," Ariel replied. "I wish I could help fight against her."

Eric shook his head. "I would insist against it even if you were not with child. This is not a fight for a lady like yourself."

She could only stare at him. What kind of excuse was that? Snow had fought many battles, and so had she, when trying to help Snow reclaim her kingdom.

"Eric… that's ridiculous and you know it."

He smiled at her. "I was trying to make you laugh. Guess it didn't work."

"I'm not in the mood to smile… I just want to talk to my sisters and find out what was going on with my father."

"I know Ariel. And we will."

Finally, they pulled up to the spot on the beach that led underwater to Ariel's castle. She saw her sister bobbing in the water, slightly hesitant to go up to the beach.

"Athena…!" she called out.

Her sister looked up, smiling, and going over to her. "Ariel… so Father did it then, did he?"

The princess stared. "What? How did you know… about that?"

"Did you think I didn't realize father was dead? I know he sacrificed himself for you."

Eric handed Athena the trident, which she took with a small smile.

"How did you know though?" Ariel asked.

"Father knew you made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, and wanted to, no matter what it was, sacrifice himself so you didn't have to suffer the consequences."

Ariel rested her head against Eric's shoulder. "Was he ill?"

Athena fell silent, the only sound was the water lapping the sand.

"Athena, please tell me," she told her. "Please."

Her sister looked up at her. "Yes. Father was ill. He came down with The Pox… and he just didn't recover from it."

"Oh Gods…" she whispered. "Oh Gods. Poor father!"

"Do not weep for him, sister," Athena said. "Because his sacrifice brought back the happy endings… including his own."

"What?"

Athena smiled. "Being with Mother again is his happy ending."


	13. Together

Regina was confused.

She gazed around the room, in her _palace_, with dark eyes. What the hell was she doing back here? They weren't supposed to be here, they were supposed to be in Storybrooke. How, how had they returned?

Maybe she was getting a second chance to do things _right._ She knew how she could avoid the curse from ever being broken.

Don't adopt a child, or at least, don't put Rumpelstiltskin in charge of her adoption.

Or kill Emma Swan before she managed to escape.

She looked down at her hands – her horse's heart was clutched in it. Whatever had happened, whatever spell had been cast, had taken them back to before she cast the curse.

Perfect.

Regina smirked, teleporting out of the castle and to the woods, where the rest of the 'most evil' in the land were waiting for her. Soon, she would be able to have her second chance at the Curse, at her revenge.

And Emma Swan wouldn't be able to break it.

"Now…" Regina said, her cape billowing out behind her. "Let's try that again."

Everything was prepared again, and she smirked, holding Daddy's heart over the fire. "Let my wrath be unleashed!"

The heart dropped into the fire, smoke rose… Regina smirked…

But nothing else happened.

"What?" Regina whispered, staring at the fire. "WHAT?!"

What the hell was going on? There should have been something happening – the curse should have been happening, swallowing everything in its path. Why wasn't it?

"Rumpelstiltskin!" she hissed under her breath, vanishing to his prison.

There were no guards. Odd, but perhaps she got lucky and arrived during shift changes. Going into the shape of a rat, she scampered into the prison…

Only to find Rumpelstiltskin's cell empty.

Ah, Regina's palace was devoid of the Queen.

Excellent. Less blood to spill this way.

Rumpelstiltskin had dropped his son off at the Dark Castle to keep him safe from anything that could possibly happen to him, before going to Regina's palace to rescue Belle. It felt strange, having to rescue his princess… almost like he was Charming or Eric having to rescue their princesses.

But he was far from a prince.

Smirking a little, Rumpelstiltskin snapped his fingers, the guard going flying downstairs.

"Oops," he said with a slight cackle, before snapping the door unlocked. "Belle?" he asked, stepping into the room.

If Belle knew how to fly, that's how she got into his arms so quickly.

"Rumpel! What's going on? Why are we back here?" she asked, staring at him. It must have been his skin. Unsurprising, considering he was back to the gold, glittery skin.

"It's a long story my darling, but I'm afraid we don't have much time to explain right now," he said. "I have to get you out of here."

Belle simply nodded, and Rumpelstiltskin vanished with her, not hearing the sounds of the door slamming open, and a very angry Evil Queen storming up the stairs…

"Rumpel, what happened?" Belle asked as soon as they'd arrived.

"I created a sort of… reset button if you will, to bring us back to this world. To the day when the curse was cast," Rumpelstiltskin said, looking around. "Now I think it's time you finally met someone…"

"Papa?"

His son walked into the room, looking at Belle curiously. "Papa, who is this?"

"Bae, this is Belle…" Rumpelstiltskin said. "She's my… well, my girlfriend."

He saw Belle smile out of the corner of his eye, and Bae stared at him. "Girlfriend?"

"Yes…" Belle said, smiling. "Your father did so much to try to find you Bae…"

Bae looked down. "He still abandoned me in that world."

"I know Bae," Belle said. "I know, and that was awful and he never should have, but you must believe that he tried so hard to find you, and now he finally has, so will you please give him a chance? He is no longer a monster."

Well, he wouldn't have gone that far, but he appreciated Belle's words about him.

"I understand it will take time Bae, but I still want you to stay here with Belle and I. We have to keep you safe. The Evil Queen will be angry with me," Rumpelstiltskin said.

"Why? Papa, what did you _do?!"_

"I might have given her a curse, that brought all of us to that world so I could find you, but I planted a fail-safe… a counter curse that was cast to bring us all back here. Today is the day the curse was cast… but it won't work. She will be after everyone that has wronged her. Bae, where were you?"

"Neverland, Papa… at least for a while… then I wound up in that world," he replied. "I'm angry with you, you know. For casting a curse like that."

"I know Bae. I know… and I'm going to have Belle break my curse… as soon as we defeat Regina."

Bae sighed. "I don't know if I want to make a deal with you Papa, especially after how our last one went."

He saw Belle squeeze Bae's hand. "Baelfire," she said, "your Papa is telling the truth this time. He doesn't want the Dark Curse anymore. As soon as we rid the world of the evil that cursed our world, we can bring him back to normal, like he was a long time ago."

Bae looked at Belle, then at Rumpelstiltskin, and sighed. "Fine."

"Thank you Bae," Rumpelstiltskin said, hugging him.

Snow cried out in pain, Emma well on her way out. It seemed that, even though they didn't have to worry about the curse, Emma still wanted to be born on this day.

Charming was next to her, holding onto her hand as he did before. It was amazing to her now, that everything could be normal like this. They were getting a second chance at raising their daughter, who had sacrificed literally everything to give it to them.

"She's amazing C-Charming," Snow managed to choke out as she finally pushed out the baby, Doc smiling all the way. "She's not even an hour old yet and she's amazing…"

Charming chuckled a little in her ear, nodding. "Yes, she is. Our Savior Emma. Snow, you were amazing…"

Snow felt no panic, no fear, as Doc finished cleaning off Emma, handing her to Snow. "Oh Emma," she whispered. "Our sweet, perfect girl."

Emma's wide, curious eyes gazed up at her, full of love, as if she knew what was going on.

Charming smiled, sitting in a chair next to the bed, his hand on Snow's. "I keep feeling like I have to jump up and take her to the wardrobe… but then I remember that I don't."

Snow leaned up, kissing him with joy. "We don't have to say goodbye…"

"Never again Snow. Never again."

* * *

Well, this is kind of a filler chapter, but I really wanted to write this to kinda have everyone re-adjust to being back in FTL, and to write a sweet Bae/Rumpel/Belle scene for those fans. Don't worry - next chapter will have more action.


	14. The Final Battle Will Begin!

A couple of weeks had gone by, with nothing from Regina, and that had Ariel very concerned. In order to make sure they were all safe, and to keep warriors close together, she and Eric had temporarily moved into Snow and Charming's palace. Just in case.

Melody was here too, having arrived a day after they had moved in. It had been exhausting, but worth it to know that Snow and Charming had their daughter as well.

Ariel sat at the window, looking out at the view. She wondered if Phillip had awoken Aurora yet as she fed Melody early in the morning.

"It's like the calm before the storm, isn't it?" she heard from behind her. Eric stood there, his arms crossed, a serious look on his face. "Mulan said she saw Regina and Cora working together."

Ariel shivered at the thought. "What if they kill us? That's worse than any curse."

"They won't. I swear Ariel," Eric replied, a firm hand on her shoulder. "I will always keep you safe, and Melody."

"I don't want to lose you Eric."

"Ariel… if it comes down between you dying and me dying, I'd rather myself die so our child can have her mother."

Ariel shook her head as Melody pulled away from her chest. "I have magic though Eric. I can fight them better than you can."

Eric wrapped his arms around her. "I know that Ariel… but I can't risk you getting hurt."

She gave him an annoyed look. "Please. You're the most important person to me. If I lost you…"

"You must have faith that you won't," he told her. "We will all be fine. Good triumphs over evil… always."

"But what will be the cost this time?" Ariel asked. "We have already lost my father."

Eric sighed, kissing her head. "Don't worry."

"The Evil Queen is after us, possibly with her mother if they find each other, and you're asking me not to worry?" she replied, raising an eyebrow at him. "You and Charming I swear…"

He laughed for a moment, before turning serious. "I know… but that is what is keeping us from losing it. If we all are panicked, it won't be good for Melody and Emma. We don't want them thinking something's wrong."

She sighed, holding Melody close, resting the baby's head on her shoulder. "Have you heard any other news? From my sisters, or anyone else that's helping us?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. But that doesn't mean anything. We will survive, Ariel. We will take Regina down."

She really hoped so.

Regina smirked and looked up at her mother. Soon, they would right everything. She may not have been able to hurt Snow White and Prince Charming in this land, but her mother could – and she would based on what the plan was.

They would never see Cora's magic coming – there was no way they could. They had no Seers on their side, anyone with that power died out long ago. Regina didn't know how that happened, nor did she care. All she knew was that soon, they would be bowing to her once again, and Snow White and Prince Charming would be dead. Finally.

"Are you ready, daughter?" Cora asked, standing next to her with a smirk on her face.

Regina nodded. "Always ready mother. Especially knowing what this battle will mean." Peace in her life – finally she would get some peace and quiet. Anyone that revolted against their battle against the one that caused her so much pain would be… well, eliminated.

Just as she wanted.

Cora took her hand, and they vanished instantly, going to Snow and Charming's palace for the fated final battle to begin.

And this time, there would be no more happy endings but her own. This time, she _would_ succeed.

Pacing.

Eric wouldn't stop pacing, and it was driving Ariel insane. Melody and Emma had been spirited away by the fairies, to another part of the land for their safety, and easily brought back when the fighting ended. She was worried enough about them, she didn't want to see her husband look like he was ready to drop dead from fright.

"Eric, please don't pace so much," she said, reaching to take his hand. "You're making me nervous."

"I can't help it," he said, looking at her. "I want to know where she is. I want to know what she's doing. I want to know how we can stop her."

She stood, going to him and kissed his head. "I know… but you pacing isn't going to solve anything. It's just making things worse."

He held her close, rubbing her back, and she sighed a little. "I know… but waiting around isn't doing us much good either."

"There's nothing we can do if we don't know where she is or what she's planning," Ariel replied. "She will make her move soon. We have to count on that."

Eric let out a frustrated sound, resting against the table they were near.

"It will be okay… aren't you the one that was telling me that?" she asked, a slight smile quirking up onto her face. "Please… calm down."

As soon as she words were out of her mouth, something shook the area, the magical barrier around the grounds rippling, swaying, nearly breaking. Ariel had to hold back a scream as Grumpy announced that it was indeed Regina – and that she had a guest.

Cora.

The woman that they'd trapped in The Pit when everyone else had been gone was here. Regina's _mother_.

Eric held her close as they raced downstairs, Charming with Snow meeting them there.

"Everyone remember the plan?" Charming asked, sword in his hand. Both of them looked pale, frightened.

Ariel nodded, and Eric grabbed his sword as well. "Is Rumpelstiltskin here?"

"He's in the forest, waiting like we planned," Snow replied. "I didn't know Cora would be here…"

"We should have known they'd find each other when we reset everything…" Snow whispered, looking even worse than before. "Families always find each other after all."

"I know," Charming said. "But don't worry… our family is stronger than theirs. We have true love on our side."

"But families –"

"Snow, do you honestly think Cora loves Regina? Daughter or not? You know her better than anyone else in this room," Ariel said. She had her own opinions of the woman, but Snow had known her as a child.

Snow bit her lip. "I want to believe it but – "

The screams of the fairies tore them from their thoughts.

They ran outside, staring. Cora and Regina were standing just outside the barriers, wild, evil smirks on their faces.

"Hello dear," Regina said, eyes locked on Snow's. "Lovely day to die isn't it?"


	15. Drain

Thank you all so much for being patient with the slower updates. Now that school is out, I'm hoping to get back to my faster updating for all of my stories!

Also: HOW CRAZY WAS "SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT"?! Ahhh!

Enjoy!

* * *

Ariel saw Charming pulled Snow close the instant Regina's words were out of her mouth. Snow glared, but there was a hint of fear hidden underneath the fiery passion in her gaze.

"The only one dying today will be you Regina," Snow replied. "We're back in our world now. The world of happy endings."

"Yes, sweet Snow, and you've had enough of one," Cora said, stepping forward as the last of the barriers protecting them fell. "But now, it is time for my daughter to have her happy ending."

The quartet backed away as Regina raised her hand, a ball of fire in her palm. Regina had another wild smirk on her face, and laughed. "No one can protect you now. You have no magic. No daughter. No fairies to give you any kind of protection. You're all alone Snow White. It's time for you to pay for what you did."

"I didn't do anything Regina!" Snow cried. "Haven't I apologized enough for telling Cora about Daniel?"

"NO!" Regina shrieked, forcing all of them to flinch. "Every time you think you've paid you get your damn happy ending!"

"You ripped me apart from my husband for twenty eight years! You made me give up my daughter!" Snow countered. "After David and I have given you every chance to redeem yourself. You could have tried to move on. You didn't. We could have killed you."

Regina laughed. "Maybe you should have!"

"It's not too late, is it?"

Cora laughed coldly. "You don't think I wouldn't protect my daughter, do you? Just because you don't have a mother-"

"Don't you talk about my mother!" Snow cried. Ariel could tell she was angry as she gazed around. Rumpelstiltskin needed to get here soon with their last resort. Considering that both Cora and Regina were here, they might need it.

Regina's arm shot out, and Ariel could see magic burning in her hand. She acted quickly, summoning some of the water from the nearby barn and flinging it as hard as she could toward the former monarch and her mother.

"You will not kill us," Ariel said. "Good will win Regina."

Cora and Regina let out identical laughs, and Ariel's blood ran cold. Gods, she hoped their backup arrived soon. She and the fairies would struggle against Cora and Regina.

Cora whipped some sort of magic from her hands at Ariel, who screamed in pain as it knocked her back, her chest cut open slightly.

"ARIEL!" she heard Eric cry. "YOU BITCH!"

She heard her husband's footsteps hurrying over to where she lay, and she winced in pain as she looked up into his concerned, loving face. The fairies were there in an instant as well, and Ariel felt her body levitating off the ground by the fairy magic, taken inside, her eyes swimming in pain. She didn't want to die – not yet. She hadn't seen Melody grow up. She hadn't been able to have other children with Eric… and perhaps most importantly, she hadn't been able to see her friends raise Emma – the one thing she had wanted most during that awful curse Regina had forced everyone to live under for twenty-eight precious years of their lives.

"E-Eric…" she whispered, grabbing for his hand. Oh Gods everything _hurt._

"My beautiful Ariel," he said, kneeling next to the bed, warm hands clasping hers, trapping it between his. "I promise, you'll be okay."

She could feel magic humming in her, whatever healing the fairies were doing to her was working, thank the Gods.

Eric's lips pressed softly against her head as the Blue Fairy shoved him away from her side, instead he knelt at her head, stroking her cheek in an attempt to keep her calm and focused on their love rather than the pain that was still shooting through her – though it was dulling slowly.

"Will she be okay?" Eric asked the Blue Fairy. Ariel's eyes found the fairy hovering over her.

To her relief, The Blue Fairy nodded. "Yes. Thank goodness we were nearby, otherwise we might not have been able to stop the bleeding in time.."

Ariel shivered, not wanting to think about that.

"Blue, maybe you should go check on the others," another fairy said, the screams of the fighters reaching their ears. Ariel shivered again, as the Blue Fairy magically changed the blood-stained dress she'd been wearing into a simple dressing gown and nodded toward the other fairy.

"Keep her safe, Nova," she said before heading outside.

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin cackled as he got word of the battle beginning. Not only was Regina there, but Cora as well, and that… was quite awkward for the man. He had, at one point, loved Cora, but she had abandoned him, ripped her own heart out just to avoid being with him.

Unlike Belle.

His face turned to her concerned one, and he stroked her cheek. "The final battle has begun," he told her. "I can sense it."

The smile she gave him was faint, but there. "Soon it'll be over… and you can break this curse."

"Yes… soon."

It was still a strange, and slightly frightening thought, losing the power he'd had for three-hundred years, but he knew it was for the best – for Belle and Baelfire. Finally, he was putting them first. He couldn't disappoint them, not again.

"Keep Bae safe," he said, gazing into Belle's eyes. "Please."

"I will, I promise," she replied. "Now go. Hurry."

Rumpelstiltskin vanished in an instant, knowing his son was in safe hands. The spells around his palace were too strong for Regina or Cora to break through – he had made sure of that, and now, he would make sure Regina paid for locking up Belle, and Cora paid for… breaking his heart, even though he had moved on, quite happily, from her.

When he arrived at the palace, he saw it in quite a pickle. Windows were shattered, and the damned fairies were trying their hardest to hold off Cora and Regina. He had to admit (as much as it pained him), they were doing a fairly decent job, all things considered.

He giggled, trying to get the two women's attention – it worked of course, they were like dogs sometimes, and he was the puppet master.

Ah, he would miss this when he broke his curse. Luckily, he wouldn't have to hear about it from both of them.

"My dear Rumpel…" Cora cooed. The tone was chilling, even for him, and he was the Dark One.

"Cora. It's been far too long," he replied, grinning. "I see you're doing… well."

Cora nodded, extending her hand to grasp his. He took it, but only because he knew that the closer he got to the two idiot witches in front of him, the easier this plan would be.

"Quite well indeed… and soon my daughter will get what she deserves."

"Is it what Regina deserves? Or what _you_ want?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in genuine curiosity. Cora had ripped out her own heart, how could she possibly feel any love for Regina, and care about her?

Cora said nothing to him, instead questioning him. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her an impish grin. "I love a good battle dearie. And I've come to make a deal. I know something that will make you more powerful so you can get what you want!"

It was a bluff, of course, but they bought it easily, Regina stopping her fight when she noticed who Cora was talking to.

"You can make us more powerful?" Cora questioned. "What is it you want in return?"

"Peace."

That part wasn't a bluff. He wanted them to leave him alone, and once his powers were gone, he saw no reason why they wouldn't.

"Peace? That's all you want?" Regina asked. "Seems like a small request for you."

"I want you to leave Belle and I alone, Regina," Rumpelstiltskin said, blood boiling at the thought of Belle locked up in that damn asylum for twenty-eight years.

"Fine, fine!" Cora huffed. "Now just give it to us!"

Rumpelstiltskin smirked. "Hold out your hands."

Both women did so, and Rumpelstiltskin took one of each, before smirking and pressing down hard, the hidden magic drainer he had created pressing into their palms, their magic slowly fading.

Identical screams pierced the surrounding lands, but Rumpelstiltskin simply watched as they fell to their knees, staring at their hands as the purple magic floated uncontrollably out of their skin, into the air like smoke – smoke that would never harm anyone again.

"Rumpel…" he heard Cora whisper. "Why?"

"Why, dearie?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Because I do not tolerate people going back on their words…" he gazed right at her as he said it, before turning to her daughter. "Nor do I appreciate those I care about being locked up for twenty-eight years, making me think that they were dead."

This was what they deserved. They would never be able to harm anyone again.

The man looked around as the last of the smoke faded into the air. "Don't worry dearies… I know a place with a great dungeon."


	16. Treaties

He cackled as Charming and the dwarves ran over to them, knowing it was now safe to. Oh he was going to enjoy this.

Charming forced Regina to her feet, hatred clear in his face. Rumpelstiltskin had to hold back another laugh as she snarled at him, hatred glaring back right at him. The man though, ignored it as the fairies magicked some chains on the terrible mother-daughter duo.

"So we're prisoners now?" Regina asked.

"We've learned our lesson Regina," Charming replied. "You cannot hurt us anymore. The happy endings have returned."

"So where's mine?!"

The shriek was nearly deafening as Cora was led away kicking and screaming by two of the dwarves.

Charming raised an eyebrow. "Do you really deserve one after all of the chaos you caused? All of the families you ripped apart? Banishing us to a terrible land for almost thirty years of our lives?"

"Yeah well, you got your damn happy ending back didn't you? And where am I? Left alone, powerless, a prisoner!"

"We gave you chance after chance to find a happy ending before you cast that damn curse Regina!" Charming replied. "People run out of chances. You're lucky we don't have you killed! Be grateful that my wife still has some compassion for you."

"After what she did to Daniel? Never!"

"And what did _you_ do to _her_?"

Charming's words stunned Regina into silence, and Rumpelstiltskin had to silence his own tongue so no one would hear him laughing. He didn't know Charming had that in him, he really didn't, but oh, it was such a treat to see!

Eventually, Charming turned to the imp. "You never named your price for helping us. What is it you want?"

Rumpelstiltskin undid the spell on his tongue as he smirked a little. "I want a peace treaty with your land, and with Ariel and Eric's land."

* * *

"How are you feeling Ariel?" Eric asked her for the… well, she'd lost track after ten times.

"I'm fine," she said, sitting up in bed. "And if you ask me that one more time I'm going to ask you to leave the room. When are the fairies bringing Emma and Melody back?"

"Nova and Blue just left, so sometime this evening," Eric replied, stroking her cheek. Ariel smiled and curled her head into his touch. Since her injury, Eric had been a wonderful doting husband, but he honestly was starting to get on her nerves with exactly how many times he questioned if she was okay. If she hadn't been, she would have told him. There was no hiding her pain to him.

"Do you think father would be proud of me?" she asked, gazing out the window, looking at the water that was visible.

"Yes. Very proud," Eric replied, sitting next to her. "He'd be worried about you of course, but he would be happy… because you fought as hard as you could."

She snorted. How hard could she fight if she was knocked out ten minutes after the dark side had arrived? "Yeah right."

"Ariel…"

"I didn't fight! I just yelled at Regina and she attacked!"

"That's not true and you know that," Eric said, holding her as close as he could without hurting her. "She was about to attack and you stopped her. So she got the better of you. So what? Charming told me Rumpelstiltskin managed to take their magic away. They can't hurt us any longer."

"Good…" she murmured, resting against him easily, molding into his side. "So much has happened lately… maybe now we can actually relax."

Eric nodded, before they heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called softly, smoothing out a wrinkle in her gown. Snow and Charming entered the room, identical smiles on their faces, though Snow was hiding pain. Ariel knew she still loved and cared for Regina, but she also knew that Snow was smart enough to realize that there was no way Regina could no longer be free in the world. They would always be hurt, attacked by her.

"Ariel, how are you feeling?" Snow asked, hurrying over to her and taking her hand. "Are you okay?"

Ariel nodded. "Yes, I'm feeling much better. The fairies say I can get up in about an hour. Their magic is nearly done healing me."

Snow smiled. "Thank the Gods! I was so worried about you… I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost one of my best friends."

"You would have gone on, Snow," Ariel said. "You would have helped Eric raise Melody and tell her stories about how her mother tried to fight against the Evil Queen. But let's not think of the 'what-if's'. I am alive, you are alive. Our husbands and children are alive, and most importantly, Cora and Regina cannot hurt us any longer."

Ariel nodded as she heard the babblings of the two young princesses that had been sent away for their safety.

"Melody!"

"Emma!"

Both sets of parents rushed to their children, holding them close as the babies wiggled in their mother's arms.

Ariel laughed a little. "Are you Mama's silly little girl Melody?" She didn't get a response other than another soft noise from her child. She would never get tired of hearing the little noises from her, and the fact that she was able to hear them again, despite knowing what it meant, was something wonderful. What was even better, was that Snow and Charming would be able to see all of Emma's firsts too.

"Shall we hold a celebration?" Eric's voice suddenly asked, breaking through the silence of the room.

"Celebration?" Snow replied.

"Celebrating our victory over Cora and Regina of course."

Ariel looked up at Snow, and they exchanged the same look.

"No," Ariel said. "Let's just relax and celebrate as families."

"Before we begin to relax… there is something we need to do," Charming said.

Ariel raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Rumpelstiltskin. His price for helping us."

Eric groaned, running a hand through his dark hair. "What does that imp want for his services?"

Ariel had to agree with the groan. He always wanted something for himself, and being an ally in a battle to defeat dangerous enemies was a pretty big agreement.

"Peace treaties with our lands."

"That's all?" Ariel asked, standing up. "All he wants is a couple of peace treaties?"

Charming nodded. "That is all he said."

Ariel looked up at Eric. That was a simple thing to agree with, right? Treaties, especially with powerful people, were good. As many bad things as Rumpelstiltskin had done, at least they had been fixed. If it hadn't been for the thing Rumpelstiltskin had given her, they wouldn't have been able to undo the things Regina had done.

"Okay…" Eric eventually said. "We will sign a peace treaty with him."

"He's waiting downstairs, if you're up to signing it now," Charming said, looking at Ariel.

Ariel nodded. "I feel fine now James."

"David," Charming replied. "My name is David."

"What?" she and Eric asked as she stood up carefully, holding tight to Melody.

"It's a very long story…" Charming said. "But I was adopted by King George when his other son, my twin brother, died."

"Oh… so what do you prefer to be called?" she asked.

"David. I think it's time that the lie stopped. Now that we're back in this world, and we get second chances, it's time to be more honest. I went by David in that world, and it just feels right," Charming replied with a smile.

Ariel smiled a little, before the four of them went downstairs to meet with Rumpelstiltskin, who was sitting at the round table Snow and Charming used for the War Council.

"Ah, Ariel. So glad to see you are doing well, and the little babies too. Regina and Cora weren't able to get them. Good," the imp said, sitting way too comfortably in the chair than Ariel would have liked.

"Yes. I'm doing fine Rumpelstiltskin," she said, taking a seat next to Eric, Snow and Charming sitting on Eric's other side, Emma on Snow's lap, Melody on Ariel's. "So, what is it you wanted from these treaties?"

Rumpelstiltskin leaned back in the chair. "Oh, don't worry, I don't want much. I want you to simply leave me alone. You leave me alone, I will leave you alone."

"What if we need help?" Eric asked.

"You may ask me for help, but if you try to arrest me for anything or throw me in the dungeon again… then you will not like the consequences," the imp replied.

Ariel looked at Eric. She didn't know if she liked the threat he was making. "Do we agree to it?" she murmured, noticing Snow and Charming had their heads together too.

"I think we should. We get an ally out of it… and I see no reason he would need to be arrested right now," Eric replied. "Let's give him the chance."

Ariel nodded. "Okay."

"We agree to the terms of your treaty," Eric replied. "The South Kingdom will sign the treaty."

"As will we," Charming replied.

Rumpelstiltskin smirked. "Excellent." With a snap of his fingers, the treaties appeared in front of them. Ariel read it carefully, knowing that he could have lied to them when he said that was all he wanted. To her surprise, it really was all he wanted.

With a quick flick of their wrists, the treaties were signed, and Rumpelstiltskin was gone in another instant.


	17. Epilogue

_Three Years Later…_

"MAMA!" Melody's voice yelled loudly from her bedroom.

Ariel chuckled, already well on her way to the little Princess's bedroom, holding her son Kai close.

"Let's go see what sissy wants…" she murmured softly to the boy, entering Melody's room, only to find the little girl standing there, chest puffed out in pride in the half-completed task of dressing herself for the ball celebrating the birth of Snow and Charming's second daughter, little Eva.

"Look! I got dressed all by myself!" Melody announced, a wide grin on her face.

Ariel laughed. "Don't you look pretty, sweetheart? Come here, let's straighten this out so you can look even _prettier_."

Melody gasped. "I can look even prettier Mama?"

Ariel nodded. "Of course you can. You're the most beautiful in all the land, Melody."

Her daughter shook her head, giggling. "That's you, Mama."

The red head chuckled and fixed the little girl's dress, adjusting the small tiara on her head. "There we go. Now you're all ready for the ball."

It would be Melody's first ball, that she would actually remember anyway, and Ariel was thrilled. She remembered her first ball under the sea. She had been four, a year older than Melody, and everyone in the sea had been there, as it was a celebration for her father's birthday. It had been one of her favorite memories as a child.

Melody smiled and hugged her. "Is Kaiii gonna have fun at the ball too Mama?"

Ariel stroked a piece of hair from the little girl's face with a smile. "I hope so sweetheart. There will be lots of people there for him to see."

She doubted Kai would remember anything from tonight, but she would amuse Melody with the thoughts.

"Like Emma!" Melody cheered happily. "Are we going now Mama?"

Ariel chuckled. "Soon, sweetheart. Mama has to finish getting ready for the ball. Her hair was done, she needed to get changed into the gown that had been created for her.

"But Mama, you look pretty already."

Lifting Kai back into her arms, she balanced him carefully on her hip before taking Melody's hand. "That's sweet of you darling, but this isn't a dress for the ball."

Melody giggled as they entered the dressing room, Ariel setting Kai onto the bed as Melody bounced on it.

"Melody, careful of your brother," Ariel warned, before stepping into the dressing room with the attendants. As the back of the dress was fastened, she heard Eric come into the room, to a squeal of delight from Melody and a gurgle from Kai.

"Hey Princess," she heard him say. "Where's the Queen?"

A giggle. "Getting dressed for the ball!"

She heard Eric chuckle and stepped into the main bedroom again, smiling at his uniform. "Hello handsome."

"You look beautiful," he said, arm finding its way around her waist. "Are you ready to go?"

Ariel nodded, and the family went downstairs to the carriage, whisked away to the ball.

"MELODY!" Emma cheered, running up to the family as they entered the ballroom, her blonde hair flying out behind her. It was obvious Snow had tried to tame the little girl's feisty spirit for tonight, but Ariel could see that Emma wanted none of it, making it clear that Emma had retained a little bit of her old personality.

"Emma!" Melody replied, meeting her friend in a tight hug. Ariel smiled as Snow came hurrying over, holding the small baby girl.

"Oh Snow, she's beautiful," Ariel said, gazing at the little girl with a smile. "Who have you chosen as her guardian?"

"Me," came the reply from another voice. Ariel smiled and looked up. Red stood there, in a rather plain gown, but it certainly was more elaborate than many of the things she wore in the past.

"Hello Red," she and Eric said.

A man quickly found his way next to her his hand sliding into Red's, and Ariel didn't recognize him. "Who is this?" she asked, lips quirking into a smile. It was about time the woman found someone else to make her happy.

"This is Jefferson," Red replied. "He was trapped in Wonderland when the curse hit… but we managed to get him back to the Enchanted Forest. Jefferson, this is Eric and Ariel. Ariel is King Triton's daughter."

The man gave them a nervous smile. "Nice to meet you both. I have to say, I'm not used to being around royalty so excuse me if I seem… awkward."

"Do not worry about it," Eric replied. "We don't bite."

Jefferson smiled a little and laughed nervously before a blonde girl found her way to his side. "This is my daughter. Grace, say hello to Ariel and Eric."

The girl seemed star struck, and wasn't able to speak to she and Eric. Ariel smiled. "It's nice to meet you Grace."

Grace simply nodded and smiled, before ducking behind Jefferson's back.

The adults laughed quietly as Melody and Emma chattered on about… whatever it was in their minds. Ariel thought she heard Kai's name mentioned once or twice.

Kai tugged on her hair suddenly with a giggle, and Ariel sighed. "Kai, don't pull on Mama's hair."

Snow smiled, handing Eva off to Red before taking Kai into her arms. "Hello Kai. It's Auntie Snow."

Kai's eyes lit up with recognition and he bounced a little in her arms.

* * *

Emma had been so bored at the ball until Melody had gotten there. Now that she had her partner in crime, as Daddy called her, they could make things interesting.

"Let's go over here," she whispered in Melody's ear. The brown-haired girl looked at where Emma was sneakily pointing to and nodded eagerly.

The two little girls hurried outside to the courtyard, decorated by the pretty fairies earlier in the day. Emma didn't understand why this was a big deal. Eva was cute, but did she really deserve all of this? She was just a baby, after all.

Emma climbed on top of one of the tables that wasn't decorated with anything fancy. "I'm the wicked queen! You'll never be able to run away from me!"

Melody let out a gasp. "Yes I can! Good always triumphs over evil!"

According to Mommy and Daddy, Emma had been special in a past life. She had saved everyone from the mean lady that was her step-grandmother. Emma didn't understand how it worked, but it was _cool_ to think that Princess Emma could be something more than just a princess.

"I'll get you Princess Melody!" Emma declared, jumping off the table and chasing after the shrieking princess.

The girls laughed as they ran around the courtyard, completely ignoring to the audience that had started gathering around them. Rumpelstiltskin, Belle, and their children, Red and Jefferson, Ariel and Eric, her parents, Ella and Thomas, Abigail and Frederick, and others that Emma didn't recognize.

Eventually, Emma was defeated when she shot out a spell they'd made up. Emma fell to the ground, eyes closed in an attempt to look like she had died, but then she felt her father's arms lifting her back up, smoothing out her dress and hair that had gotten messy during their game.

"And they all lived happily ever after," her mother said with a smile.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this story! Keep an eye out for more!


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